Untold Tales of the JLI: Home
by blubeetle3
Summary: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT! The JLI battle Christmas Depression! Blue Beetle & Ice battle a turkey! Booster & Fire scheme! Guy drinks! And J'Onn J'Onzz dreams!
1. Chapter 1

_**Untold Tales of the JLI: "Home"**_

**Part 1**

_"When I dream, I dream of Mars._

_I dream of the plains. I dream of the butterscotch sands blowing almost silently underneath the palest of blue skies. A vista very familiar to me. A scene I had witnessed countless times from the door of my home._

_When I dream, this is where my dreams always lead me."_

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J'Onn J'Onnz, the Martian Manhunter, wandered the halls of the New York embassy of the Justice League International. He had spent many, many years on this planet since an accident had brought him to this planet from his home on Mars. Over the ensuing decades, he had used his abilities to blend in with the peoples of Earth and learn this world's cultures. Yet, there were somethings about this planet and its people that continued to amaze even him.

J'Onn always marvelled at this time of year. The latter part of the month of December was a time usually filled with joy. The yuletide brought with it a time of good will to all. It was the time when many put their differences aside and shared in a feeling of brotherhood with their fellow man. Even those that didn't share in its religious significance could share in its feeling of fellowship. J'Onn thought it amazing that even the most hardened of people could soften at this time of year.

But, J'Onn realized, this time was also filled with loneliness for some. For those poor souls with no families or loved ones to share this time with, this season was filled with reminders of what they didn't have. It was commonly called "Christmas depression".

As J'Onn walked the halls of the JLI embassy, he felt it here. It was palpable and almost all-present. It was a sense of melancholy. And it seemed that no one was immune to the oppressive feeling.

J'Onn stopped and stood in the doorway of the study and looked accross the room at Ice. She was one of the most effervesent people J'Onn had ever known. She was the heart of kindness, and despite her name, she was warmth personified.

But, even she was touched by the melancholy that had set in on the embassy.

J'Onn watched as Ice stared out the window of the study. She wistfully watched the snow outside fall. Even without his telepathic abilities, J'Onn knew what she was thinking about- home.

Before she became the hero known as Ice, Tora Olafsdotter was royalty to her people. A princess. Daughter of King Olaf. Her people were a society of "ice-generators", and those very abilities caused her people to go into hiding. Over time, her people became very xenophobic _("Something that was sadly not uncommon amongst the peoples of Earth."_ thought J'Onn.). And being cut-off for so long retarded that society's social changes. Women were looked upon as subordinates to men, and were forbidden to use their ice-generating abilities.

But, young Tora had secretly practiced her abilities and honed them over time. To the point that when strangers came to her people's lands, Tora publicly used her powers to save them. After which she was presented with a choice: never use her abilities again or become an outcast among her people. Tora, realizing that her powers could be used to help people, decided to leave and explore the strange new world that the strangers came from.

_"A brave choice."_ thought J'Onn._ "And even though she left willingly, she still left all she knew and loved. At this time of year, is it any wonder her thoughts returned to home?"_

As J'Onn stood silently watching Ice, he came to a decision.

"Ice?" said J'Onn softly.

Ice, who was lost in her own thoughts and reflections, was totally unaware of J'Onn's presence and, despite the softness in his voice, was startled to hear him. She turned toward him and tried to shake off her reflections with a smile.

"If you would, could you gather the team in the meeting room?" asked J'Onn quietly.

Ice put on the wane smile again. "Alright." she said brightly, but, J'Onn could see through the facade she put up and still felt the melancholy in her heart.

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As Ice walked down the corridor in her mission to locate her fellow teammates, she just couldn't shake the longing feelings she had. She knew what it was. She knew she was homesick. It had been so long since she had seen her family and, even though she was cast out by her family, she still missed them desperately. But, Ice was determined not to let these feelings affect her or what she need to do. She had things to do, and the thing she needed to do at that moment was find her teammates and deliver J'Onn's message.

Luckily for Ice, her search for her teammates started in the foyer of the embassy where Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, dressed in their "civilian" attires, had just come in through the front door.

"It is COLD out there!" proclaimed Booster through chattering teeth as he stood shivering in the foyer.

Beetle looked at Booster with some disdain as he started taking off his leather jacket. "WUSS! It's not that cold out there. Ever feel an 'arctic express' blow in over Lake Michigan? That's cold!"

"I'm a 'hot-house flower'." responded Booster as he unzipped his parka. "Does Arizona need a superhero? Or Florida? Oh, I dream of living in Florida! Especially when it's this cold HERE."

"**'This cold'**?" repeated Beetle, shaking his head, and tsked. He noticed Ice standing there taking in their conversation. "You don't hear Ice complaining about the weather." Beetle said as he winked at her.

Ice smiled and nodded. "This is practically "short-pants" weather where I come from."

That comment alone sent another shiver down Booster's spine.

Ice had to smile at Booster's reaction. She would have enjoyed standing there to watch Beetle ride Booster about his lack of cold-resistance a little longer, but, she had a job to do. "J'Onn wants to see all of us in the meeting room." she said.

"Why does J'Onn always send you with bad news?" Booster asked Ice.

"Because he knows we won't bite her head off." replied Beetle, even though the question wasn't directed at him. "She's the 'velvet glove' to J'Onn's 'iron fist'."

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Ice found Fire, her best friend, in the monitor room. Which made perfect sense because Fire was on monitor duty. Surprisingly, Fire had no problem with the meeting. In fact, she almost hugged Ice for bringing the news.

"ANYTHING to break up the monotony of monitor duty!" Fire stated with relief.

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Finally, Ice found Guy Gardner, the JLI's resident Green Lantern, in what Guy liked to call his "Fortress of Solitude". His sanctum sanctorum. Also known as the bathroom. Guy said he did his best thinking (if you could call it that!) in there.

Ice knocked tentatively on the door. "Guy?"

"Little busy in here!" Guy's strained voice came through the door.

"J'Onn wants you in the meeting room when you're done." Ice called tentively.

"That might take awhile." Guy called back. "I had mexican last night, and I ain't about to pinch a loaf 'cause Mister Greenjeans said to come running!"

Ice walked away from the door with a shiver of disgust. That was more information than she really needed. She really did love Guy, and she was sure he loved her, but, it was times like this that made her wonder why she did.

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The full team of the Justice League International (American branch) convened in the meeting room. All were there except for the JLI's executive administrator, Maxwell Lord IV, who was spending his holidays in Vale, Colarado (_"Probably with some young hottie who's only interested in his money!"_ thought Booster enviously). Blue Beetle and Booster Gold had changed into their uniforms, expecting the worst. The general feeling around the table was tension as J'Onn J'Onnz never convened a meeting unless it was bad news.

J'Onn stood at the head of the table. "I've called you all here for a reason." started J'Onn as he looked around at his teammates. "I have come to a decision." J'Onn stopped to gage the reaction of the team. It was as he expected. They tensed up awaiting the bad news J'Onn was sure to deliver.

"The JLA had a tradition." J'Onn started as he straightened up to his full height, which, at 6'7" was quite considerable. "A tradition that we are going to revive this year." J'Onn waited a second, possibly for dramatic effect. "CHRISTMAS DINNER!"

The reaction at the table instantly changed from tension to confusion. Beetle looked at Booster. Fire looked at Ice. Guy Gardner just had a look of utter incomprehension.

"Say wha'?" asked Guy.

J'Onn kept his head straight and looked down at the team. Most of them recognized this as J'Onn's "leadership stance". The one he put on when he would brook no arguments on a matter.

"We will have a traditional Christmas dinner." stated J'Onn simply. "Turkey. Stuffing. Vegetables. After which, we will exchange presents. This is not voluntary. It's MANDATORY."

The confusion around the table didn't abate with J'Onn's pronouncement. In fact, it only increased.

"Well," said Beetle, trying to get a grasp on what J'Onn wanted. "Who's going to cook this 'traditional' Christmas dinner?"

"YOU are." stated J'Onn as he looked Beetle squarely in the eye..

Beetle was taken aback. "By 'you', I assume you mean all of US!" he spluttered.

"No." said J'Onn and pointed toward Beetle. "By 'you', I mean **_YOU_**."

"ME!" exclaimed a shocked and startled Beetle. "I don't know nuthin' 'bout basting no turkeys!" he said in his best Butterfly McQueen voice.

J'Onn pulled a book from under the table and slid it down to Beetle. Beetle's eyes bugged when he saw the cover. **"Christmas Dinner for Dummies"** was the title of the book. J'Onn had considered all the members of the team. Unfortunately, none of them really knew how to cook. Beetle, however, showed an aptitude in following written directions. Thus, Beetle had the best chance to make something edible and - hopefully - non-lethal.

As expected, the others were enjoying Beetle's predicament. As Beetle looked around the table wildly, each covered a smirk or a smile (except for Guy, who was smiling openly and maliciously). They were, also, thankful it wasn't them that was put into this position.

"But...but...but..." Beetle stammered as he had memories of his mother making Christmas dinner when he was a child. The long, LOOONG hours it took her. "I can't do this alone! This a big job!"

"You're right." said J'Onn stoicly. "That's why Ice is going to help you."

Ice blinked in confusion. "What?" she asked in a state of shock.

J'Onn knew cooking a Christmas dinner was a considerable undertaking, and that Beetle would need a helper. Simply put, Ice was the best choice. Beetle and Booster together in a kitchen was a recipe for disaster (images of an alum stuffed turkey ala "The Three Stooges" came instantly to mind). Fire would flirt with Beetle in order to get out of work, and no dinner would come of that. Guy and Beetle would attempt to kill each other if confined in a kitchen for hours. Thus, Ice was the best (really, ONLY) option.

"Uh-oh! Someone's in trouble with the principal!" whispered Fire to Ice in a sing-songy voice.

"Fire." said J'Onn in his best authoritarian voice. Fire instictively sat up straight. "You and Booster are reponsible for decorations. I want the study and dining hall to look appropriately festive."

"Festive?" asked Fire.

"Festive." confirmed J'Onn. "You and Booster will get whatever is needed. A tree. Garland. All the things that say 'Christmas', and you two will decorate the embassy."

"What about Guy?" asked Booster. "Is he getting off scot-free?"

"I didn't know he was ON Mister Miracle." quipped Beetle as he paged through his copy of **"Christmas Dinner for Dummies".**

J'Onn ignored Beetle's comment. "No. Guy, too, has his responsibilities."

"Narc!" said Guy angrily to Booster. "Thanks a lot for droppin' the dime on me, butthead."

J'Onn had thought long and hard about what kind of responsibility to give Guy. If he had his way, he'd have sent Guy off on a long, long journey. But, Guy was part of this team, and, as big a pain as he could be, he was still going to be part of this. J'Onn thought of the perfect thing for Guy to be in charge of. In fact, it was one of his specialties.

"Guy will be in charge of beverages." proclaimed J'Onn.

Guy was taken aback. "You mean... drinks?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. Do you think you can handle that?" J'onn inquired.

"Does a pig love to wallow in mud?" responded Guy with a smile as he warmed to the idea.

"I don't know." said Fire coolly. "Do YOU?"

"Hah. Good one!" said Beetle, never taking his eyes off the page he was reading, as he held out his hand. Fire lightly "gave him five".

"Hardy-har-har." said Guy, clearly not amused.

"You have your missions." J'Onn stated as he straightened to his full height again. "I want this to go off without a hitch. Any questions?"

"If killed or captured, will the Secretary disavow any knowledge of us?" asked Beetle with a smirk.

"No." said J'Onn. "And this Martian will not self-destruct in five seconds either."

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_"When I dream, my mind takes me back to my home on Mars._

_"There I see my wife and daughter. In my dreams, they are both as lovely and full of life as they were so long ago. And the dream is so vivid that I can touch them. I can hear their minds._

_"And my heart aches because I know what comes next._

_"My dreams are always the same. They start with my home and family... and then comes 'the Burning'._

_"When I dream, the cycle always remains the same."_

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Blue Beetle and Ice, both dressed in street clothes, were at a supermarket. You couldn't have a dinner without doing the grocery shopping. J'Onn had provided a list of needed items for them to procure. Beetle was pushing the shopping cart down the produce aisle as Ice was reading from a list.

"What's next?" asked Beetle.

"Corn." said Ice as she knit her delicate brow. "I think."

Beetle looked over Ice's shoulder at the list and slowly shook his head. "With as organized as he is, you'd think J'Onn's penmanship would be better, wouldn't you?"

Ice shrugged. "Well, english isn't his first language. So, it's understandable."

Beetle looked at her with narrowed eyes. "No it isn't. English isn't your first language, but, you have beautiful penmanship." Beetle critiqued. "Very flowery, yet, extremely neat."

Ice didn't know how to take the compliment. She had never had her penmanship critiqued. Nor, did she think her penmanship would ever be critiqued. Especially by Beetle, who, for the most part, printed everything except his signature.

"Handwriting says a lot about a person, you know? There are whole studies about it." said Beetle conversationally as he started pushing the cart down an aisle.

"Really? What does my handwriting say?" asked Ice curiously.

"Well," said Beetle as he pulled a large can of corn off a shelf. "I'm no handwriting analyst, but, can you really say anything bad about a person who dots her 'i's with smiley faces and uses little hearts for periods?"

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Meanwhile, accross town, Booster Gold and Fire were shopping for Christmas decorations. A task made the more complicated by the lateness of the season and the clash of tastes between the shoppers. Fire wanted more traditional trimmings. Booster, who originally hailed from the 25th century, wanted more "modern" (which to him were "traditional") trimmings. Like in every argument between men and women, Fire's tastes won out.

"You're his best friend." said Fire. "So, what does Ted want for Christmas?"

"A girlfriend." said Booster with a smirk as he examined some garland.

"My budget is limited, you know?" responded Fire with a smirk of her own. "Seriously. Any ideas?"

"Ted's easy." said Booster as he stopped to look longingly at a silver foil Christmas tree. "Star Trek. History books. Joke books. Chicago Cubs. Electronics. CDs (Doesn't matter what type of music. He'll listen to it!). DVDs. Crap. Junk. Toys. He likes 'em all."

"C'mon. No one is that easy to shop for." said Fire as she pulled Booster away from the silver Christmas tree.

"Of course it is." said Booster. "All you need is small grasp of a person's tastes. Take you, for example. You're easy."

"I beg your pardon!" said Fire, her eyebrow quirked, a sure sign her temper was beginning to flair.

"No!" said Booster quickly. "That's not what I meant. I mean it's easy to shop for you."

"Really?" asked Fire, the doubt evident in her voice. "Well then, tell me what your 'small grasp' of my tastes tells you."

Booster shrugged his shoulders. "You like things that are gaudy and expensive." he said matter-of-factly.

Fire opened her mouth to argue, but, she realized that Booster was right - she did like things that were gaudy and expensive!

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Back at the supermarket, Beetle and Ice were still in the canned foods aisle.

"You don't like the smiley faces or hearts?" asked Ice, a slight hint of hurt in her voice.

"Are you kidding?" asked Beetle with a grin. "I **_LOVE_** the smiley faces and hearts! They're cute."

Ice cringed at the word "cute". She had heard that word used to descibe her all her life. When people described Bea, they used words like "beautiful", "exotic", and "breathtaking". When people described her, they used the word "cute".

Beetle caught the cringe. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with 'cute'." said Beetle.

"Have you ever been called 'cute'?" asked Ice glumly.

Beetle started to laugh. It wasn't his normal belly-laugh "bwahaha", but, rather a chuckle. "A couple of times. When a woman calls me 'cute', I definitely take that as a compliment. I gave up on 'handsome' or 'rugged' a long time ago."

"You do that a lot." said Ice, her head tilted with a touch of a smile on her lips.

"Do what?" asked Beetle, as he knit his brow. He was not following.

"Selling yourself short." said Ice earnestly. "You have a lot going for you: you're smart; you're funny; you're a nice guy..."

Beetle cut her off. "Ding ding ding!" He smiled at her confused expression and slowly shook his head. "I knew you couldn't get through that little description of me without saying 'nice guy'!"

Ice was confused. "What's wrong with being a 'nice guy'?"

Beetle sighed and shook his head sadly. "Oh, Tora, Tora, Tora. It's been my experience that women don't want a 'nice guy'. They want a 'bad boy' that, more often than not, treats them like crap."

"That's a generality. And it's not true." argued Ice, shaking her head.

Beetle cocked his head at her. "Said the woman who's dating Guy Gardner!"

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It was like Guy Gardner died and went Heaven. The Green Lantern looked around in sheer awe. It was like he could hear angelic music as he spun around and looked at aisles upon aisles of BOOZE! Alcoholic beverages of all types. All the bottles in every shape and size. Flourescent light dancing off their curved glass beauty.

Guy often thought about chucking it all and opening a bar somewhere. A real manly man's kinda joint. Low lights, neon beer signs, and sawdust on the floor. Not some stupid foo-foo theme restaurant or something.

When Guy realized he had a nice size wad of cash in which to buy the beverages for the Christmas dinner, something creeped upon Guy's face that his fellow teammates would have found disturbing on Guy's usually surly visage: a look of pure, almost child-like JOY!

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"Okay." said Fire, starting to warm to Booster's sudden abilities. "What about Tora?"

"Something sweet or cute." said Booster decisively.

"Guy?" asked Fire.

"Pornography, pro wrestling, or football."

"J'Onn?"

"Nothing with a flame or green."

Fire cocked an eyebrow at that last remark.

"Hey!" said Booster, innocently putting his hands up. "Don't blame me. I just calls 'em like I sees 'em!"

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_"When I dream, I dream of the last days of Mars._

_"Some compare me with Superman. We are both sole survivors our respective races. But, Superman never witnessed the death of his people. I envy him that... I was not so fortunate. I watched everyone and everything I knew succumb to the flames._

_"'The Burning' was a psychokinetic plague that swept through my people, a race of telepaths. The final stage of it caused its victim to spontaneously combust. It was merciless and unforgiving. It touched every mind on Mars, my wife and daughter included. It touched every mind of my people... except for mine._

_"When I dream, I dream of the flames."_

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J'Onn J'Onzz was sitting in front of the monitoring station, deep in thought. Thankfully, the season had caused a considerable drop in world-threatening crises. Monitoring sweeps all came back negative. The embassy itself was very quiet with everyone, save him, out.

The quiet was a blessing to J'Onn. It allowed him to relax and drop his psychic shields without fear of catching someone's stray thoughts. Most never realized what a considerable strain it was to keep from reading others minds when so many were in close proximity, as they were in a team environment.

The quiet allowed J'Onn to gather his thoughts. Which, ironically, turned to his absent teammates.

Ice was the most severe case, but, all of the members of the JLI had been suffering from this "Christmas depression" to some extent. All of them were classic examples of those most prone to it, as a matter of fact.

Booster Gold, Michael Jon Carter, was a stranger to this time. Cut off from friends and family. The only family he had in this time, his sister, was killed. Leaving Booster alone in this time with no lifeline to the time he was native from.

Beatriz Da Costa, Fire, was orphaned at a young age and grew up on the streets of Rio de Janiero. A hard life, indeed. But, she perservered. She went on to become an entertainer, a spy, and, finally, a hero. But, she tended to be distant and distrustful from most people (save Ice), using her "attitude" to keep people at an arm's length. Not willing to be hurt again as she was at such a young age.

Guy Gardner came from a home with an abusive father and a mother that allowed it to happen. He lived in the shadow of someone his whole life, whether it was his "sainted" older brother or fellow Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Although he was deemed as worthy as Jordan to bear the ring, Jordan was chosen. It was still a bitterness that Guy carried inside him. If Guy couldn't "live up" to their standards, he'd create his own.

And Ted Kord, Blue Beetle, despite his facade, still carried the sting of his mother's death at a young age. A still-strained relationship with his father resulted. Feelings of isolation and social ineptitude resulted from his being intellectually advanced for his age, always being "advanced" farther and farther away from his own age group.

All had feelings of isolation and loneliness. They either had no families to share the season with or no families they cared to share the season with.

"Or none that they're aware of." said J'Onn aloud, almost with a smile.

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"Guy is not a 'bad boy'!" exclaimed Ice. "And he does not treat me like 'crap'!" Ice couldn't understand why people always had such a low opinion of Guy. Couldn't they see that there was more to Guy than the rough exterior he showed to the world? Couldn't they see that inside there was that sweet side of Guy just yearning to get out?

Beetle just stared at her as he pushed the shopping cart down the canned food aisle. "Uh-huh." he said.

That response agitated Ice even more. "No. I'm serious. Why does everyone always assume Guy is a 'bad boy'?"

Beetle stopped pushing the cart and lowered his head. "Guy is obnoxious, arrogant, rude, violent..."

"That's just a mask he puts on for the world." argued Ice. And Ice truly believed that. She knew that there was a side to Guy - _"Guy's real side,"_ thought Ice - that very few saw. It was the side she first saw in Guy when she joined the JLI. The others said it was an aberration. The result of taking too many blows to the head.

Beetle sighed. This was not an argument he wanted to get involved in. The fact was he thought Ice could do a lot better than Guy, but, for the most part, he kept that opinion to himself. He didn't want to go "over-protective" on Ice like Fire did. She was an adult and could make her own judgements on who she wanted to date and who she didn't. It was just that nagging voice in the back of Beetle's mind that kept telling him, _"Some how...Some way... Guy's going to hurt Tora, and you just sat back and let it happen."_

But, Beetle didn't want to hurt Ice's feelings in the present for something that might or might not happen in the future. So, he kept his mouth shut.

"Okay." Beetle mumbled, hoping to end the argument.

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As "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" played on the Liquor Emporium's public address system, Guy gleefully pushed his cart between the aisles. And the sight of a muscular man with a flaming orange Moe Howard haircut gleefully pushing a shopping cart was disturbing, indeed. He pulled a bottle down from a shelf and looked at it, almost longingly.

"Nothing says Christmas like peppermint schnapps!" Guy noted to himself, put the bottle in the cart to join the other bottles he had already placed there, and merrily went down the aisle.

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"Alright." said Fire as she walked into the aisle containing Christmas lights. "So what should I get Ted for Christmas?"

Booster smiled. "I already told you - A GIRLFRIEND!"

Fire stopped looking at the lights and gave Booster a disapproving look.

"No." continued Booster in faux-earnest. "Seriously. Can you imagine the happiness on his little face as he finds that under the tree? And the pure child-like joy as he unwraps **_THAT_** Christmas present?"

Fire laughed despite herself. "She'd have to be a pretty FORWARD present for Ted to appreciate it!"

That comment confused Booster. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You really are dense, aren't you?" asked Fire as she examined a string of lights.

Booster shrugged. Fire sighed as she realized that she'd have to explain it to Booster.

"You've gone to clubs or bars with Ted, right?" started Fire.

"Uh-huh." confirmed Booster.

"Ever see a woman flirt with him from accross the room?" asked Fire.

"Yeah." said Booster, still not sure where this was going.

"What does Ted do?"

"Actually, Ted does this cool thing where he ignores it!" stated Booster. "It drives women nuts! Personally, if I hadn't seen him do it, I wouldn't believe Ted could pull off something that cool."

Fire started laughing. "Don't you think it's a little odd that someone who always complains about meeting women would be that 'cool' when a woman's sending signals his way?" asked Fire.

Booster's eyes started to bulge. "You mean Ted's... **_GAY_**!"

Fire slapped Booster in the back of the head. "No, stupid, Ted is not gay. But, when it comes to trying to read women, Ted is clueless. Without clue. THICK. And I mean 'Booster-thick', too!"

"HEY!" Booster knew an insult when he heard one.

"Our boy Teddy," continued Fire. "Has absolutely no clue when a woman is coming on to him subtly. Or not-so-subtly, for that matter. A woman would have to grab him by the head and plant a kiss on him before Ted would recognize that - maybe, just maybe - she's interested in him!"

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Luckily for Beetle, Ice was content to let the argument rest. Both were quiet as they entered the frozen foods section of the supermarket. And the silence was starting to make Beetle feel hinkey, like he hurt Ice's feelings. And that was something Beetle really didn't want to do.

"So," said Beetle, trying to start a conversation. "What did you ask Santa for this Christmas?"

"Anything's fine." said Ice, still acting coolly toward Beetle.

"Anything?" asked Beetle, a touch of amusement in his voice.

Ice heard the amusement in his voice, and she ignored it. She nodded her head.

"A tee-shirt with **_'I'm cute. Get used to it'_** printed on it?" asked Beetle with a smirk.

Ice looked at Beetle, and he knew he almost got her on that one when the corners of her mouth twitched.

"I know!" said Beetle suddenly. He snapped his fingers as inspiration hit him. "A billboard in Times Square with your picture and, in flashing lights, the word **_'cute'_** underneath!"

Ice knew Beetle was just teasing her, but, she couldn't help herself. "Don't. You. Dare!"

Beetle was undeterred. He smiled at Ice as he asked, "A customized dictionary with you picture as the entry for **_'cute'_**?"

Ice smiled, but, she responded threateningly, "Have you ever had your behind frosted?"

"Of course I have" said Beetle lightly, as he waved her off. "Even the thermal undies version of my costume is no match for a Chicago winter! Some nights my costume wasn't the only thing that was blue!"

Beetle felt better as Ice laughed at that. Ice really was the nicest person Beetle had ever known, and just the thought of her being mad at him troubled Beetle in ways that didn't like.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Untold Tales of the JLI: "Home"_**

**Part 2**

"Be careful." warned Fire from the front door of the embassy.

Booster Gold lugged an eight-foot tall christmas tree up the front steps of the embassy. The tree was wrapped, but, it was still a little heavy and a lot unwieldly. The fact that the steps were a bit slick from snow and ice didn't help. Booster grunted with each and every step.

"C'mon!" Fire encouraged. "You're almost there."

"You wouldn't want to give me a hand, would you?" grunted Booster, sarcasm dripping from his voice, as he managed another step.

"I'll save my applause until you're done." responded Fire.

"I'll remember to laugh at that when I'm in traction at the hospital." groused Booster as he made it to the doorway.

Booster set the tree down in foyer and collapsed into a chair. Fire gave him a very proper, very reserved "golf clap".

"You're a riot!" complained Booster as he gave Fire a dirty look.

"Oh, stop complaining!" said Fire. "You're more than halfway done."

"Halfway?" Booster whined as he looked up at her from his seated position.

"Yeah." said Fire. She pointed toward the other room. "The tree belongs in the study, not the foyer."

Booster hung his head low and struggled out of the chair. Before Booster could pick up the tree again, the front door opened, and Guy Gardner came into the foyer craddling a large cardboard box lovingly. He kicked the door shut behind him.

"Hey, Guy." started Booster. "How about giving me a hand with this tree?"

Guy rushed past Booster and Fire. "Can't. I'm busy now." Guy added as he walked up the stairs, "But, I've always got a **finger** reserved for you. Want to guess which one?"

"'Bah! Humbug!' to you, too!" Booster yelled after Guy up the staircase. "Nice holiday spirit, by the way!"

Booster was thinking of more things to yell up the stairs at Guy when he became aware of Fire looking at him. "What?" he asked.

"That tree's not going to move itself." she said sternly. "Let's get to it. Chop-chop!"

Booster shook his head and lifted the tree. "You're a real slave-driver! Do you know that?"

"Don't make me break out the whip." Fire warned.

Booster muttered under his breath, "I bet you have one, too."

"What'd you say?" asked Fire hotly.

"Nothing." said Booster petulantly.

Just then, the front door opened again. Blue Beetle and Ice walked into the foyer. They were laughing over something and carrying grocery bags from their shopping trip. They stopped abruptly when they saw Booster and Fire standing there.

_"Leave it to Beetle to get the fun one when I'm stuck the slave-driver."_ thought Booster, not-so-charitibly.

"Hey, Beetle! Old buddy! Old pal!" started Booster with his most winning smile. "Howzabout giving me a hand?"

Beetle shrugged, put down the grocery bags he was carrying, and started to clap his hand.

"With the tree! With the **TREE**! Gimme a hand with the tree!" yelled Booster, who had lost his sense of humor at this point. "And that joke is so old that it's not funny anymore!"

"I found it mildly amusing." said Fire with a smirk.

Beetle eyed Booster as if he was sizing something up. "I'll help you with the tree if you help us with the grocery bags." Beetle offered.

"DEAL!" said Booster quickly. He didn't care how many grocery bags there were. It beat carrying that damned tree by himself. "You grab the top. I've got the bottom." Booster knew his end was heavier, but, he hated walking backwards.

Booster lifted his end as Beetle grabbed the top of the tree, placed it under his one arm and cradled it with the other. Beetle walked forward into the study.

_"Why didn't I think of that?"_ thought Booster as he helped carry the tree into the study.

Back in the foyer, Ice pushed the bag she was carrying into Fire's arms. "You can help carry the groceries in, too." said Ice, a look of disapproval on her face. She knew her best friend well enough to know that Fire had suckered Booster into doing all the work.

Fire sighed. She knew that, unlike Booster, Ice wouldn't let her get away with slacking off. Ice had seen all of Fire's tricks, and none of them worked on her.

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At the top of the stairs, J'Onn had watched the proceedings. He shook his head and thought, "They really DO act like children sometimes." The Justice League of America had never been like this. But then, the JLA never had to live together. J'Onn smiled as the image of Green Arrow and Hawkman trying to share a bathroom suddenly popped to mind.

J'Onn shook his head and mumbled to himself, "I've been spending too much time with Beetle."

In his room, Guy did something he hadn't done since college - **HE OPENED A BOOK!** Not a magazine or a newspaper.** A BOOK!**

Guy's new book was entitled **"The Complete Guide to Bartending".** As Guy started paging through it, he thought that if J'Onn put him in charge of beverages, then he was going to know everthing there was to know about drinks - DAMMIT!

It was a matter of pride to Guy. If Booster wanted a "Shirley Temple", Guy was going to know how to make it. If Beetle wanted a "Fuzzy Navel", Guy was going to know how to make it. If Fire wanted "Sex on the Beach", Guy was going to give it to her - then make the drink of the same name.

And, if need arised that Ice wanted a "Kamikaze" - Guy crossed his fingers - Guy was going to know how to make it!

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Fire and Booster Gold were decorating the study. They had finally managed to get the tree up, but, not without complication. In all their shopping, neither thought to get a tree stand. After considerable moaning from Booster, he went out to buy one. When he got back two hours later, it was decided (by Fire) that Booster would lift the tree while she position the stand underneath the trunk of the tree.

Booster grunted as he tried to get a good hold of the tree and lift it straight up, perpendicular to the floor. On hands and knees, Fire got the trunk of the tree into the stand and hesitated. With her hand on the bolts used to secure the tree to the stand, she forgot "righty tighty, lefty loosey" and was momentarily unsure which way to turn them.

In that moment of hesitation, Booster's grip on the tree slipped just a little. But, a little was enough for Booster to catch a splinter in his hand. Reflexively, Booster pulled his hand away from the tree. And it seemed that one hand wasn't enough to steady the tree as it fell over.

On top of Fire.

To say that Fire was mad was paramount to saying that a monsoon is just a spring shower.

She believed that Booster dropped the tree on her intentionally as revenge for making him do the lion's share of the work. Booster professed his innocence and showed her the splinter. Fire threatened to "deep fry" one of Booster's favorite appendages if another "accident" happened again. And then they went back to work.

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In the embassy's kitchen, Ice and Blue Beetle were putting the groceries away. Ice was looking at the frozen turkey, still unsure whether an eighteen pound bird was big enough. Beetle reassured her that there were only six people to feed. That was three pounds of turkey per person. "More than enough," said Beetle. "Unless you want to eat leftovers for a week."

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Guy Gardner was in his room studying his bartender's guide. He was making notes in the margin of the book, running the fingers of his free hand through his hair, a look of total concentration on his face. He bore more than a passing resemblance to a high schooler studying for final exams.

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J'Onn J'Onzz was moving invisibly from room to room checking in on each of his teammates.

J'Onn hadn't thought that Guy would take his "responsibility" so seriously. The bartender's guide had taken him by surprise. J'Onn noted that it was indeed lucky that the book took up so much of Guy's interest. Afterall, if Guy was in his room studying, he couldn't cause trouble elsewhere.

J'Onn had almost blown his cover watching in on Booster and Fire. If Fire weren't careful, she could find her way in replacing Beetle as the "Abbott" to Booster's "Costello".

Beetle and Ice seemed to be getting along well in their endevours.

All in all, J'Onn was more than satisfied with how everything was progressing.

But, J'Onn was in another room and didn't see when Fire had her "stroke of genius"!

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Fire was putting ornaments on the newly erected Christmas tree. This was something she enjoyed doing. Taking something plain and, with a little work, turning it into something beautiful was right up her alley. Her bad mood from earlier was long forgotten as she merrily hummed Christmas tunes.

Booster was relieved that Fire's mood had changed. He was very fond of his "appendage" and didn't want to take a chance on it getting "deep fried". He was holding a box of ornaments as Fire, standing on a step-ladder, was positioning them higher on the tree.

"So, what are you getting Tora?" asked Booster, trying hard not to get caught staring at Fire's now eye-level, and considerable, breasts.

"I honestly don't know yet." responded Fire as she readjusted an ornament. "She's hard to shop for. I don't want to get her a 'so-so' gift. I want to get her something that'll knock her socks off!"

"Crystal." said Booster decisively.

"Crystal?" Fire asked as she looked down at Booster.

"It's a higher end gift and has that nice appearance of ice." explained Booster. He smiled at his own cleverness.

Fire considered for a moment. "That's stupid." she finally said. "Like I'm suppose to give her crystal because her name is 'Ice' and she comes from Norway? That would be like me giving you a snowglobe with the Daily Planet building inside because you're from Metropolis. You give her crystal."

"Can't." said Booster. "I already got her a gift."

"What'd you get her?" asked Fire, more than a little curious.

"Can't tell you." said Booster with a grin. "You'll have to wait and see when she opens it."

"Well then, what's Ted getting her?" asked Fire. If anyone would know, it would be Booster.

"I don't know." said Booster with a shrug. "He's even more secretive than I am. But, whatever he got her, I'll bet she loves it!"

"What makes you say that?" Fire inquired.

"Ted gives GREAT gifts." said Booster. "I think he's one of those weird people that actually believes 'it's better to give than receive'." Booster shook his head. He just couldn't understand that kind of thinking.

Fire nodded. "Yeah. Tora's the same way. What's with those people?" Like Booster, she, too, couldn't understand how a person could think that way.

Booster shrugged. "I have no idea!"

Fire thought for a second. Booster could see her brow beginning to knit. _"Uh-oh!"_ thought Booster. _"Here we go!"_

"I wonder what that deviant Gardner got her." said Fire, looking more than a little upset.

Booster knew it was coming. Fire always got **_THAT LOOK_** when she thought of Gardner. It was a mixture of anger, confusion, and revulsion. "Big Sister" was about to go off about Gardner.

Fire, for the life of her, could not figure out what Ice saw in Gardner. Fire knew Gardner's type: arrogant, macho a$$holes who thought that they were God's gift to mankind. To Fire, Gardner was the lowest of the low. Pond scum had more to offer society than Guy Gardner ever could in Fire's opinion. Fire didn't think Guy wasn't good enough for Ice - she **KNEW** Guy wasn't good enough for Ice!

_"Why? Why can't Ice find someone better than Gardner?"_ thought Fire. _"Why can't she find -?"_

Booster just stood there looking at her. He could practically read her thoughts by the expressions on her face. He had heard her tirades about Guy often enough to know exactly what she was thinking.

Then, the unexpected happened. Fire's expression soften to one of disbelief. "Ohmygod." she whispered. "Oh. My. God!"

Booster was concerned. He'd never seen one of Fire's tirades end like this, and he was SCARED!

Fire's expression changed once again. She looked like she just had an epiphany. "I'm a genius." she said aloud. "Don't ever doubt that I'm a bonafied, dyed-in-the-wool GENIUS!"

"Are you okay?" asked Booster, more than a little concerned.

Fire looked down at Booster from atop the step-ladder. It was as if it took her a moment to register that Booster was there. She had a wild, dangerous look in her eye. It didn't help matters that a nearby Christmas light was reflecting off of Fire's eyes, giving an even more ominous glow to them.

"What do you think of Tora?" she asked Booster suddenly. "Describe her."

"Fire - Bea - I think maybe you should come down..." Booster started. He was really starting to worry now.

"Describe her!" Fire ordered emphatically.

Booster was scared. He wasn't afraid to admit it. Fire was manic. He thought he'd better try to humor her. "Well...she's sweet...and kind...and nice..."

"Is she the nicest person you've ever met?" Fire asked, her eye catching a glint of light off an ornament.

"Well, yeah..." replied Booster, licking his suddenly dry lips.

"Do you want to see her get hurt?" Fire asked menacingly.

"No! Of course not." replied Booster nervously.

"What kind of man does she deserve?" asked Fire quickly.

"What?" asked Booster, confused.

Fire, on the step-ladder, loomed over Booster. "Does she deserve a man like Gardner? A deviant, stupid jackass like Gardner? Someone you know is going to hurt her eventually? WELL? DOES SHE?"

_"Oh, God! She's lost it!"_ thought Booster. "No." said Booster aloud, trying to humor her.

Fire leaned in close to Booster. "What kind of man does she deserve?" Fire asked again.

"I dunno!" said Booster as he took a step back. "A...a...a nice guy?"

Fire's eyes opened wider and seemed to light up. "Do you know a 'nice guy'?" she asked quietly.

_"Oh, man! She is totally off her rocker!"_ thought Booster, taking another step back.

Fire smiled broadly as her eyes lit up.

"This year," Fire said grandly. "We are going to give Ted _**EXACTLY**_ what he wants for Christmas - **_A GIRLFRIEND!_** And that girlfriend is going to be _**TORA**_!"

"Are you INSANE?" asked Booster Gold.

Fire cocked her head back. What kind of question was that? "No. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask? **Why do I ask?** Have you been listening to yourself?" asked Booster in an agitated manner. "You make it sound like you're gonna tie a bow around Tora and say 'Here you go, Ted! She's all yours! Take good care of 'er!'."

"Well, of course I'm not going to do that." said Fire calmly. "We have to convince them that they're attracted to each other first."

Booster was dumbstruck. Fire truly didn't realize just how crazy she sounded. Booster raised his hands and started mouthing words that never came out. Finally, he managed to say, "You are insane!"

Fire stepped down from the step-ladder, and placed her hands up. "No. Wait. Give me a chance to explain this to you."

"Oh, this should be good." said Booster.

Fire took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Okay." Fire started. "Let's start at the beginning."

Booster nodded.

Fire took another deep breath. "You've been in the League longer than either Tora or myself, so, you tell me, what do you think of Guy?"

Booster couldn't believe he was playing along with this, but, he shrugged and said, "I think he's a Class-A jerk."

"Okay." said Fire, clearly calmed down from her previous manic moments. "Now, what are the odds of Guy doing something to really hurt Tora?"

Booster started shaking his head. "I'm not arguing that Tora and Guy dating is a good thing." explained Booster. " I DON'T think Tora dating Guy is a good idea in anyway, shape, or form. In fact, I honestly can't think of one redeeming characteristic that Guy has. But, Tora is an adult. She can make her own choices."

"Okay. Okay." said Fire, clearly not prepared to give up. "But, sometimes people can't see what's bad for them! That's what friends are for!" explained Fire desperately.

Booster started to say something, but, Fire cut him off.

"I know that sounds wrong." said Fire, trying to make Booster understand. "But, c'mon, if Beetle were dating..." Fire thought of a name as heinous as Gardner's. "...Lizzy Borden..."

"Who?" asked Booster.

Fire thought of another infamous woman. "If Beetle were dating Catherine Di Medici..."

Booster still looked lost.

Fire was getting frustrated. "If Beetle were dating **Glenn Close from 'Fatal Attraction'**..." THAT rang a bell in Booster's head. "...Wouldn't you try to intervene?"

Booster mulled it over in his mind. "Okay." he said hesitantly. "You have a point. But, what makes you think that you can just make Tora forget about Guy and start thinking about Ted?"

Fire was undettered. "I know Tora likes Ted. She considers him a friend."

"You're clutching at straws." said Booster. "I like Ted, too. That doesn't mean I want to date him!"

"Most experts say that the best relationships start as friendships." countered Fire. "Besides, I can handle Tora. All I need you to do is work on Ted."

Booster could not believe he was hearing this. "What?"

"Does Ted like Tora?" asked Fire.

"Well, yeah." said Booster, still not believing the course of this conversation. "Everyone likes Tora. She's a very likeable person."

"Well, all you have to do is convince Ted that Tora's interested in him." stated Fire

"You're insane!" stated Booster.

"Stop saying that!" said Fire. "Think of this as a 'win-win' situation."

Booster was truly stupified. "How?" was all he could ask.

"If we can pull this off..." Fire started.

"WE?" asked Booster.

"Yes. WE." stated Fire. "If we can pull this off, I win by not having to worry about what Guy's planning to do with Tora next..." Fire visibly shivered at the thought. "...AND you win by not having to hear Ted whine about his lovelife or lack thereof!"

Booster was thinking about this. What Fire was suggesting wasn't horrible at all. Truth be told, Booster could picture Ted and Tora together as a couple. Tora was the kind of girl that could be really good for Ted. And she was cute, too! Really cute! Better than Beetle had any right to expect, as a matter of fact.

Booster was starting to weaken, and he knew it! "You're really trying to sell me on this." said Booster.

"Are you buying?" asked Fire hopefully.

Booster shook his head. Even he couldn't believe the next words out of his mouth. "God help me. I am."

Fire's eyes lit up, and she smiled. She knew she wasn't alone in this plan of hers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the embassy kitchen, Ice sneezed suddenly.

"Bless you." said Beetle from under the counter as he placed another can on the shelf.

"Thank you." said Ice as she opened her eyes wide. "Whew! That came out of nowhere."

Beetle popped his head up from under the counter. "That means you're coming into money." Beetle thought about that for a second. "No, that's wrong. Itchy palms mean you're coming into money. A sudden sneeze means someone's talking about you. Or is that burning ears?"

"I don't know." said Ice.

Beetle waved it off. "It doesn't matter. Just superstitions."

Beetle stood up and looked around the kitchen. "Okay. The turkey's in the sink thawing out for tomorrow. We know where everything else we need for tomorrow is. Am I forgetting anything?"

Ice looked around the kitchen. "Not that I can think of. We're going to have to get up early tomorrow morning. Better get your Christmas shopping done early."

Beetle smiled. "Already done. I don't need J'Onn telling me that we exchange presents. You?"

Ice smiled back. "I finished my Christmas shopping last week."

"Is Santa going to be good to me this year?" asked Beetle hopefully.

"That depends on whether you own a coal-burning stove or not." said Ice teasingly.

"Aw, c'mon!" protested Beetle, looking crestfallen. "I've been a good boy this year."

"Really?" asked Ice. "Who dropped the water balloon on Power Girl's chest a few months back?"

"I was aiming at Ralph!" argued Beetle. He cocked his head back suddenly. "And how'd you find out about that?"

"I called Santa." teased Ice. "He knows who's been naughty or nice."

"More likely that Booster let his lips flap again. That boy cannot keep a secret!" complained Beetle.

"That, too." said Ice smiling.

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"Alright." said Booster to Fire. "How am I suppose to convince Ted that Tora's interested in him?"

Fire smiled. This was where she showed her true genius. "Do you remember what I told you about Ted earlier today?"

"That he can't read women?" asked Booster.

"Exactly." smiled Fire. "Now, if he can't read the signals a woman is sending his way, he doesn't know that Tora ISN'T sending those signals. All you have to do is convince him that she IS."

Booster couldn't help but be impressed. "My God, you are devious!"

Fire shrugged. "But, I'm devious in a good cause."

"How are you going to handle Tora?" asked Booster.

"Don't worry about that." said Fire confidently. "I can handle Tora."

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Later in the evening, Fire had convinced Ice to go Christmas shopping with her. They found themselves in an overcrowded department store on Christmas Eve. Fire told Ice that she need another opinion on her purchases. But, in reality, it was to get Ice alone and work her plan on her.

"Did you and Beetle have fun grocery shopping today?" asked Fire non-chalantly as she looked through some shirts.

"For the most part." said Ice as she looked at the shirt Fire pulled out.

Fire held the shirt up. It was black with a funky geometric design on it. "What do you think about this for Booster?"

Ice's eyebrows went up as she tried to be diplomatic. "It's certainly...unique."

Fire shrugged and put the shirt back. She knew her friend well enough to know that "unique" was Ice's way of saying she wouldn't buy it.

"You and Ted seemed to be enjoying yourselves when you got back to the embassy today." Fire said, letting an implication hang in the air for Ice to see.

Ice shrugged. "Ted's a funny guy. He can be fun to hang around with."

"Yeah, he can be." Fire agreed. "He's a sweetheart, too." Fire mentally noted to herself to play this one cool. _"Don't overplay your hand too soon!"_ she thought.

"Yes, he is." said Ice as she looked through the shirt rack.

"It's a shame that..." Fire started and suddenly broke off. "No. Nevermind." she said quickly and turned away from Ice.

Ice knit her brow. A sudden look of concern came over her face. She felt Fire was trying to hide something from her. "What?" asked Ice.

"I can't say." stated Fire. Ice couldn't see the shadow of a smile cross Fire's face. _"I think of got her!"_ thought Fire.

Ice turned her friend around. "Is it Ted? Is there something wrong with Ted?" Ice asked.

Fire looked down to avoid Ice's eyes. She just couldn't look her friend in the eye. Ice could see there was sadness on Fire's face, and it upset Ice.

"I...I really can't say." said Fire hesitantly.

Having been raised in Brazil, a predominantly Catholic country, Fire learned at a young age that **GUILT** could be a powerful weapon to have in one's arsenal. Fire never thought she'd ever use that weapon on her best friend, but, times were tough, and extreme measures were called for.

Ice grabbed her friend by her shoulders. "If something's wrong with Ted, you have to tell me!" said Ice. Genuine concern for her friends was one the traits that endeared Ice to most people. It was the trait Fire was going to exploit.

"Oh, Tora. If you could just...just see the pain..." started Fire sadly.

"Ted's in pain?" asked Ice quietly.

Fire's lip quivered. "Ted wouldn't let you see, but...when you turn away...or when you're outta the room..." Fire said. "That hollow pained look..." Fire shook her head.

Ice heart was wrenching at the thought that Beetle was hurting so badly and never let on to her. "What is it?" Ice asked.

Fire looked at Ice with such sadness. "Oh, Tora." she said. "Can't you see how much Ted loves you and how much it's tearing him up inside?"

Ice was stunned.

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Meanwhile, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle were having a few beers in the embassy study. Beetle looked around and had to admit that Booster and Fire did a great job of decorating the place. It practically screamed "CHRISTMAS" at you. But, in a very traditional, non-gaudy kind of way. The large Christmas tree by the fireplace was something right out of a Christmas card.

Booster was nervous. He wasn't as devious or cunning... or ballsy... as Fire. He still didn't know how he was going to convince Beetle that Ice was attracted to him. He was racking his brain for a way to start the conversation.

"Man," Booster started after taking a swig of beer. "Ice is hot for you!"

Beetle almost choked on his beer. Between coughs he managed to say, "What?"

"C'mon, dude!" said Booster, as he barrelled on. "Tell me you can't read the signals she's sending your way."

"Get away from me!" said Beetle disbelievingly.

"No, Ted. I'm serious." said Booster taking another swig of beer. "She's sending all the signals."

"Yeah? What signals?" asked Beetle, still not believing Booster.

_"That was a really good question."_ conceeded Booster mentally. Too bad he didn't have a really good answer prepared. _"When in doubt, lie!"_ thought Booster.

"The way she looks at you when she laughs at your lame-ass jokes." started Booster. "The way she smiles and looks down away from your eyes. The way she tilts her head to the side when she looks at you. The way she puts her hands behind her back when she's not sure what to do with them. The way she shifts uncomfortably when you look at her too long."

Booster had listed every little quirk that Ice had ever displayed in the hopes that Beetle recognized something - **ANYTHING!** - as Ice sending him signals. Booster looked over at Beetle. He was sitting there thinking about it. _"Oh my God!"_ thought Booster. _"I think he's actually buying it!"_

"No." Beetle said finally as he shook his head. "She still dating Guy. I don't think Ice would would be intentionally sending signals out If she's still dating Guy."

In his time of greatest need, inspiration struck Booster like a lightening bolt. "Unless Tora is confused." said Booster coolly.

"What?" said Beetle.

Booster took another swig of beer. "I think she's confused." said Booster. "Tora fell for Guy when he was... well, 'Mr. Nice Guy'. I think she's starting to realize that wasn't the real Guy. I think she's after a real 'Mr. Nice Guy'."

Booster had inadvertantly hit a tact that worked. Beetle started thinking about it. Tora had called him a "nice guy" earlier in the day.

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"What?" asked Ice, still in shock.

"Ted loves you and it's tearing him up inside!" repeated Fire on the verge of tears. "He sees you with Guy and... and... it's obvious to everyone it's killing him."

All those talent scouts back in Brazil who told Fire that she wasn't talented enough to act on their television novellas should have seen this performance! Fire was hitting every mark. It was time to bring this performance home.

"Booster tells me Ted sits in his room all alone. Just staring at the walls." Fire stated. "It's..." Fire choked on the word. "It's really sad."

Fire could tell her story was working on Ice. Ice bit her lower lip and had a concerned look on her face. Fire felt a pang in her heart. _"Is that my conscience?"_ thought Fire. _"Not now! I'm close! And this is for her own good!"_

"I never knew Ted felt that way about me. But..." Ice asked, "But what can I do about that? Should I talk to Ted and tell him I don't feel that way about him?"

"NO!" said Fire quickly. Fire regained her composure. "No. You can't do that. You might..." She let the thought hang in the air.

"I might what?" asked Ice, worry etched on her face.

"You might push him right over the edge!" said Fire quietly. "I think he might be that far gone."

"Really?" Ice asked, shocked that Beetle might be that far gone.

"You might just be too adorable." said Fire sadly as she shook her head. _"Okay. That one might have been pushing it."_ she thought as she shifted her eyes around.

"Well, what should I do?" asked Ice, truly confused and seeking advice from her more worldly best friend.

Fire looked down. "I think you should give Ted a chance."

"But... but... but..." Ice started. "I don't feel that way about Ted! And what about Guy?"

Fire pulled out her greatest weapon. "If you want to be responsible for destroying a man, I can't stop you. The decision is yours."

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"Don't you like Tora?" Booster asked. He was on his third beer now and really starting to get into this whole "deception for a good cause" thing.

"Everybody likes Tora." responded Beetle. "But... I don't know if I feel..." Beetle thought of the best way to put it. "...Romantic toward her."

Booster looked over at Beetle and cocked his head back. **"Are you insane?"** Booster blinked as he realized he was saying that a lot today. "She's a major cutie! Better than you deserve, that's for sure!"

"I know that." conceeded Beetle. "But, I think of her more as a friend."

"Don't you know the best relationships start as friendships?" Booster parroted what he heard Fire say earlier. "You know, I think you should be a man about this!"

"What do mean?" asked Beetle defensively.

"If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for her! Do you want her stuck with Gardner her whole life because you were too much of a wuss to do anything when she was reaching out to you?"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Untold Tales of the JLI: "Home"_**

**Part 3**

_"When I dream, I dream of the loneliness._

_"After I watched and mourned the death of my people, I wandered the face of Mars. For months? Years? Decades? Even I'm not sure anymore how long I wandered. I'm not sure why I wandered. Perhaps in some vain hope that there might be other survivors._

_"There weren't._

_"In the unbearable silence of a dead world, I was alone._

_"When I dream, I dream of a world gone silent."_

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J'Onn J'Onzz was concerned about the current mood in the Justice League International embassy. He had meticulously planned on having this Christmas dinner for a reason. He believed his reasoning was solid. He felt planning and executing the dinner would keep his teammates minds off of thoughts that were leading to depression. Bring them closer with a common goal.

It was working, too. J'Onn could sense a lifting of the team's mood.

But, somewhere along the line, something changed. Something went wrong. While the depression was no longer as strong as it had been, it was replaced by something as bad: ANXIETY.

J'Onn had no idea where it could've come from, but, there was no doubt, it was there. And it came from multiple sources. In other words, more than one of his teammates were feeling stressed.

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Blue Beetle couldn't sleep. He sat on the edge of his bed, head in hands. He looked at the clock on his bedstand and realized it was only three hours until he had to wake up and prepare the Christmas dinner. But, he couldn't fall asleep.

Everytime he closed his eyes, his mind would start racing. And his mind was racing around one thought: he didn't want to hurt Tora's feelings.

Beetle's conversation with Booster kept replaying in his mind. Had he really been too thick to see the signals she was sending out? Had she realized what a jerk Guy really was? Was she reaching out to him?

He almost had to laugh at the irony. Yesterday, he held his tongue about what he really felt about Guy Gardner in order to spare her feelings. And here, today, he couldn't really do anything but tell her how he felt abour her, and he knew it was going to hurt her.

Tora Olafsdotter was one of Beetle's favorite people in the world. You couldn't help but like her. She was always pleasant to be around. She was a good listener if you needed to get something off your chest. She had an innate sense of wisdom and always had good advice. And she was a constant "moral compass".

She was, also, the sweetest person Beetle had every known. Like a lot of people, Beetle mistook her sweetness for niavete at first. But, he came to realize that it wasn't the same thing. Tora was quite smart and worldly. She just refused to dwell on the negatives life presented. She had an indominable spirit.

Tora was the type of woman Beetle could fall for - and fall in a hard way! But, that ship had sailed. Their relationship wasn't like that now. Beetle looked at her more as his "little sister".

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ice, too, was having trouble sleeping. She laid in her bed staring at the ceiling. She knew she had to tell Ted how she really felt about him, but, for all the world, she didn't want to hurt him.

She loved Ted. Just not in that way.

He was funny and unorthodox. She could always count on him to make her laugh. He was the type of person who could talk about everything from advanced scientific theory to why the original "Star Trek" was infinitely better than "The Next Generation". Or he just tell you a dirty joke.

Ice smiled a bit at that thought. No one except Ted would tell her a dirty joke, not even Guy. But, Ted would always look around to make sure no one else was there before he told her the joke. It was like he was afraid of getting caught "corrupting" her. It was their "dirty little secret".

Knowing Ted Kord was like knowing an eccentric wizard. He was sharp, but, a little...well, goofy. No, that wasn't right. "Goofy" wasn't the right word. His view of the world was a little different than most. Ted was the only one to realized just how odd it was to dress up in a colorful costume and fight world-threatening menaces, but, he would always shrug it off and ask, "What else am I gonna do with my time?"

Despite what he said yesterday, Tora knew Ted was a nice guy. And that he'd find someone who would appreciate him for that. Unfortunately, that someone couldn't be her.

She knew what she had to tell him was going to hurt him. And that ate at her more than she could ever imagine.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beetle got up. He was feeling "cooped up" in his room and decided to go down to the kitchen. "Maybe some coffee'll help." he thought. He knew it wouldn't, but, he was going to need the caffeine to keep him going throughout the day.

As he walked into the kitchen, he decided not to turn on the lights. The moonlight reflecting off the snow outside the window provided enough illumination to start the coffee machine. Beetle sat down at the kitchen table and waited for coffee to brew.

While he was sitting there, his mind kept turning back to what Booster had said, _"If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for her! Do you want her stuck with Gardner her whole life because you were too much of a wuss to do anything when she was reaching out to you?"_

That and the little voice in the back of his mind telling him Gardner was going to hurt her and "you sat back and let it happen!"

Beetle put his elbows up on the table and rested his head in his hands.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ice sighed as she got up. She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep. Her mind was racing too much.

She couldn't get the images that Fire conveyed out of her head. Ted's heart breaking when he saw her with Guy. Ted, a hollow look in his eyes, sitting alone and staring at walls.

_"If you want to be responsible for destroying a man, I can't stop you. The decision is yours."_

Ice put on her robe and decided to walk down to the kitchen. Maybe make some coffee. Perhaps, a change of scenery would help her think.

As she approached the kitchen, she could smell coffee. Offhandedly, she thought someone forgot to turn off the coffee machine the night before. She turned the corner and snapped on the lights.

A strangled cry came from the kitchen table as Ice jumped back. Beetle was sitting there with his hands over his eyes. _"Oh my God!"_ thought Ice as she looked at Beetle. _"Was he sitting here in the dark, staring at the walls?"_

"W-what are you doing down here?" Ice asked nervously.

"Apparently, waiting to get blinded." said Beetle as he rubbed his eyes and blinked several times.

What followed was a few awkward moments of silence as each realized that they would have to face their fears sooner rather than later. Neither really looking at the other.

Ted broke the silence. "I... couldn't sleep. I decided to come down and make some coffee. You?"

Tora sat down at the table opposite Ted. "Pretty much the same."

"Want some coffee?" Ted asked.

"Please." said Tora.

Ted got up, went to a cabinet, pulled out two mugs, and filled them. He returned to the table and placed one of the mugs in front of Ice.

Another uncomfortable silence ensued. Tora stared down at her coffee, stirring sugar into it. Ted sat there, chin in hand, looking at the blender on the counter. Each was doing their best to avoid doing something they found unpleasant.

Ted finally stopped staring at the blender and looked at Ice. "We need to talk." he said decisively, yet in a quiet voice. He couldn't believe how hard it was to say those words.

"Okay." said Tora quietly, not looking up from her coffee. She realized that she was filled with a sense of dread at what she had to do.

Ted bit his lower lip. If just telling her they had to talk was hard, the next part was going to one of the hardest things he'd ever have to do. "I need to tell you how I feel about you." he said suddenly.

"Don't." said Tora quietly as she realized her hands were shaking.

Ted shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I... I've been up all night trying to think of the best way to tell you this." he started. "And the only way to do it is to just say it."

Tora visibly winced and shut her eyes. The dread built up in her. Ted was going to leave her no choice but to hurt him.

Ted looked at Tora's reaction and felt a pit open in his stomach. _"Does she know I'm going to turn her down?"_ he thought.

"I really like you, Tora." started Ted hesitantly. "I really do."

Tora's heart leaped into her throat and she closed her eyes tighter.

"But, I think of you more as a friend." continued Ted slowly.

Tora opened one eye and looked at Ted. "What?" she asked suddenly.

Ted reached accross the table and held her hand. "I know you've been..."

"Wait a second." Tora said, cutting him off. Confusion began to set in. "You think of me as a **_friend_**?"

"Yeah." said Ted sympathetically. "I know you're feeling confused..."

Tora cut him off again. "If you think of me as a friend, why are you **'pining'** for me?"

Ted knit his brow at this revelation. "Okay. Now, I'm feeling confused. I'm not 'pining' for you." he explained. "You're the one sending **'signals'**."

"WHAT?" asked a shocked Tora. "I most certainly am not sending 'signals'! Where would you get that idea?"

"Where'd you get the idea I was 'pining' for you?" Ted asked in reply.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

J'Onn J'Onzz had to grab the edge of the monitor console in order to keep his balance. In all his time on Earth, he had never had his shields so overwhelmed by a single emotion like there were a second ago. J'Onn had never felt such overwhelming... anger! It was as though a number of people went from calm to furious in less than a second.

And, oddly enough, it was coming from a source close by. Within the embassy. If J'Onn had to guess, he'd say the kitchen.

J'Onn needed to investigate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"My dreams haunt me each night. There are times when I awaken with no recollection of what I had dreamed. And there are other times when the dream is so vivid that I awaken in a confused state._

_"But, my dreams never leave me._

_"They are a constant companion to me when I shut my eyes."_

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue Beetle's and Ice's anger had quickly dissolved into confusion and depression. Each wondered how they could've been duped by their respective best friends - in different ways. Ice wondered how Fire could have tricked her so cavalierly. Beetle wondered how Booster COULD have tricked him at all.

Beetle was an experienced "practical joker", and, as such, had developed a sense of "prank-radar" as a self-defense mechanism against those seeking "payback". Beetle's "radar" never made a peep during Booster's deception. What went wrong? "How could he have suckered me so thoroughly?" Beetle asked aloud.

"Correction." said Ice dejectedly, as she stirred her coffee listlessly. "How could they have suckered **us** so thoroughly?"

"I don't understand that." Beetle said, truly confused. "I can usually see one of Booster's 'con-jobs' from a mile away. But, I didn't see this one coming."

"I still don't know why Bea would do this to me." said Ice sadly.

"It's pretty obvious." said Beetle. "She hates Guy with a passion. She'd do anything to break you two up. But, why pick me?"

"She probably thought you were her best option." said Ice with a wane smile.

"In a sick way, I should feel honored... but, **I hate being played**!" Beetle said the last four words through gritted teeth.

"It doesn't do any good to dwell on it." said Ice, as she slowly stirred her coffee.

"We could just decide never to trust them again." said Beetle and sighed.

Just then, J'Onn J'Onzz entered the kitchen.

"Is everything alright in here?" he asked. From the mental flash he received earlier, he expected the scene to be much different than just Beetle and Ice sitting at the kitchen table.

"Everything's fine." said a downcast Beetle. "We're just having the first meeting of the 'Suckers' Club'. I'm the president." Beetle pointed at Ice. "She's the vice-president."

"I don't understand." said a confused J'Onn.

"It's kind of personal." explained Ice, never meeting J'Onn's eyes.

"A sordid tale of deception." added Beetle.

"Would you care to share this tale?" asked J'Onn. He could sense that dreaded depression coming from Beetle and Ice. And, since the anxiety he felt earlier was gone, he sensed it came from these two, also.

Beetle and Ice exchanged looks.

"Not really." said Ice, looking down into her coffee again.

"It's kind of embarassing." Beetle explained as her rubbed the back of his neck.

J'Onn nodded solemnly. "Very well." he said. "But, if either of you need to talk, I'll be in the monitor room." Before he left, J'Onn paused in the doorway for few seconds before he turned around. "However, I have to say, I never thought I'd see the day that Blue Beetle was 'suckered' and just sat around and accepted it. A sad day indeed!" As J'Onn left, he had a shadow of a smile play accross his lips.

That comment raised Beetle's hackles. _"J'Onn's right!"_ thought Beetle. _"I should be planning an incredibly brilliant practical joke to pull on Booster and Bea!"_

Ice saw the look in Beetle's eye. "I want in." she said.

Beetle was mildly shocked. Neither practical jokes nor revenge were really Ice's cup of tea. "You sure?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah!" said Ice, a little maliciously. "But, it has to be nasty!"

Beetle cocked his head back. Then a slow smile spread over his face.

"That's the spirit!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in her room, Fire was dreaming the dreams of the oblivious. She went to bed confident in her plan and slept soundly, a smile on her lips as she dreamed.

In her dream, she was walking through a neighborhood of picturesque suburban homes. As she walked through this dream neighborhood, she stepped over a redheaded hobo who was laying in the gutter. The hobo was wearing a green leather coat that had seen better days and nuzzling a bottle of "Thunderbird". Fire didn't give him a second thought as she walked on.

Fire approached a lovely Victorian home that had a lovely white picket fence around it. As she opened the gate and stepped into the yard, she could hear children call her name.

"Aunt Bea! Aunt Bea!" two white haired children called as they ran up to her. She recognized them as "the twins", little Michael and little Beatriz.

"My two favorite children in the whole world!" Fire exclaimed as a greeting to them. "Are your parents around?"

"They're in the house." little Michael told her.

"They're not 'busy', are they?" Fire asked with a wink.

"Oh, Aunt Bea!" said little Beatriz reproachfully. "Mommy's right. You'll never change!"

Fire walked up to the front door of the lovely home and knocked. The door opened to reveal Ted, dressed in dress pants and a cardigan sweater over his shirt and tie. He pulled the pipe from his mouth.

"Bea!" he exclaimed and hugged her. "Come in! Come in!"

Ted lead her into the lovely traditional living room of the lovely home.

"Honey!" Ted called out. "Honey! Come see who dropped by!"

Tora, dressed in a lovely flowered frock and frilled apron, came out of the kitchen. She immediately crossed the room and hugged Fire.

"Bea!" Tora exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!" She motioned to the lovely couch. "Sit. Sit."

As Fire sat down on the lovely couch, Ted sat in very comfortable-looking armchair. Tora sat on the arm of the chair and draped an arm around Ted's shoulder.

"We have to thank you again." said Tora. "You were right to get us together."

In her room at the embassy, Fire cuddled her pillow as the smile on her face widened.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beetle sat at the kitchen table thinking. "I've got some things in my lab." said Beetle. "I've got this one chemical that'll turn their urine blue for a few days. And I've got another one that'll induce flatulence."

"We can't put that in the food." said a shocked Ice. "Too big of a chance someone else, us included, might ingest it."

"Amateur!" Beetle reproached her. "You don't put it in the food. You spray it on their plates. Then it mixes with the food."

"Oh." said an enlightened Ice. After a second, she said, "I don't know. Those sound so... tame."

"You're right." said Beetle, as he knit his brow in thought. "Plus, they tortured us mentally. Not physically."

"Too bad we can't do the same thing to them!" said Ice, almost wistfully.

A bell went off in Beetle's head. "Why can't we?" he asked suddenly. "With a few minor adjustments, of course."

Ice looked at Beetle and, after a second, started to smile. "You have a plan?"

Beetle smiled back. "Oh, have I got a plan!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas morning and Guy Gardner was dreaming.

In his dream, he was dressed in a snow white tuxedo complete with tails and tophat. He was standing on an elaborate stage with spiraling staircases on either end and a large staircase in the center. He was surrounded by white-haired and green-haired showgirls. It was like something out of a 1940's musical.

A cane came flying from offstage. As he caught it, a band started in full melody and Guy broke into song.

**_"AAAAAAAALLLCOOOO-HOOOOL! ALCOHOL!_**

**_Lovely, lovely, lovely alcohol!_**

**_Whiskey, vodka,_**

**_And a nice wine._**

**_Gin and tonic?_**

**_That sounds just fine!"_**

"That sounds just fine!" chorused J'Onn J'onzz, Booster Gold, and Blue Beetle, all dressed in tuxedoes (although Booster and Beetle still wore their masks).

Guy shuffled up one the stircases, Fred Astaire-style, still in full song.

**_"AAAAAAAAALLLCOOOO-HOOOOL! ALCOHOL!_**

**_Lovely, lovely, lovely alcohol!_**

**_Beer and scotch_**

**_And a little rum._**

**_Everyday is happy hour!_**

**_Don't it sound like fun?"_**

"Don't it sound like fun?" crooned J'Onn, Booster, and Beetle.

As Guy reached the top of the stairs, he was met by the white-haired and green-haired showgirls. He turned to the white-haired showgirls and posed the musical question, "You don't like vermouth?"

The white-haired showgirls answered in unison, "That would be uncouth!"

Guy quickly turned to the green-haired showgirls. "You don't like port?"

The green-haired showgirls answered in unison, "You must be dumb as G'Nort!"

Guy and all the showgirls created a chain by putting their arms around each other's shoulders. They started high-stepping down the center staircase. Everyone sung in unison.

**_"AAAAAAALLLCOOOO-HOOOOL! ALCOHOL!_**

**_Lovely, lovely, lovely alcohol!_**

**_Champagne and schnapps,_**

**_With a little brandy."_**

A spotlight shone down on Guy as the stage lights dimmed. Guy sung alone.

**_"Any... drink... you... can... think... of..._**

**_I can... make... just daaaaaaaannnndddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"_**

As thunderous applause filled the stage, Max Lord - dressed in riding pants, high boots, and a beret - came out on the stage and said, "You were terrific, Guy! Outstanding! Phenominal! You brought the house down! Now, **WAKE UP**! It's Christmas morning!"

Guy woke up with a start. He quickly looked around his room and, then, down at his own pajamas.

"Weird." he muttered.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fire bounded down the steps of the JLI embassy. She felt like a child on... well, on Christmas morning. She was dying to see if her plan had bourne any fruit yet. She had a good feeling about it! It was like her dream HAD to be a good omen.

As Fire reached the last step, she saw Booster standing in the study doorway. He looked a little down-trodden. "Oh no!" thought Fire suddenly. "Don't tell me it didn't work!"

"What's wrong?" Fire asked Booster.

Booster shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just feeling a little guilty about tricking Beetle. Maybe, I should just..."

Booster never got a chance to finish his thought. Fire had grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. Fire stood on her tip-toes and got right into Booster's face.

"Don't you chicken out on me now, you lilly-livered pansy!" Fire growled at him. "You screw this up for me and, so help me God, you will regret it everyday of your **_oh-so-short life_**!"

Booster had been threatened by professionals - Batman, J'Onn, Oprah Winfrey - but, none put the fear of God in him like Fire just had. Booster would keep his mouth shut, and he let Fire know it.

"Good." Fire said as she let Booster's shirt go. Her mood lightened almost immediately. "Have you seen Tora and Ted yet?"

"No." answered Booster, as he readjusted the collar of his shirt. "I just got down here a minute before you did. They should be in the kitchen."

"Let's sneak a peek." said Fire as she grabbed Booster by the wrist and dragged him toward the kitchen door.

As they both stood outside the kitchen door, Fire took a deep breath and motioned for Booster to stay silent. Fire very slowly and very quietly opened the kitchen door, making sure not to make a sound, and peeked in.

Luckily, both Ice and Beetle had their backs to the door as they stood at the counter preparing something for the dinner. As Fire watched, Ice weaved her arm into Beetle's and leaned her head against his shoulder. Beetle leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Neither could see the smile that lit up Fire's face.

Fire carefully closed the door and dragged a dumbfounded Booster, who hadn't seen what happened, back out into the foyer.

Once there, Fire practically exploded with joy. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. **YES**!" Fire was so happy she could dance. "It worked! IT WORKED!" She grabbed the startled Booster by the ears and kissed him full on the lips. She pushed a startled Booster away and started dancing. "IT. WORKED!"

Booster had never seen Fire so... HAPPY! Not just happy. She was giddy. Up until that moment, he never realized just how much Fire hated the idea of Guy dating Ice.

"La-la-la-la... IT WORKED!" sung Fire.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think it worked?" Ice asked Beetle.

Beetle was looking down at a hand-held monitor he had retrieved from his lab earlier in the morning. He tapped it into the embassy's security system and was watching Fire dance in the foyer. The monitor, also, alerted him of Fire's approach to the kitchen.

Beetle smirked. "Oh, yeah. It worked."

Ice smiled back.

"First rule?" asked Beetle suddenly.

"There is no 'Fight Club'." answered Ice, a little smirk working on her face.

Beetle shot her a look of faux-disapproval. "The first rule of pranking." Beetle clarified.

"If the suckers don't know their prank didn't work, don't let them know." said Ice, repeating what Beetle had told her word-for-word. "If they know their prank didn't work, they might be on-guard for a retaliatory prank. A clueless sucker is a golden sucker!"

"Very good." said Beetle, much as a teacher would say to a prize pupil. "The second rule?"

"Seperate the suckers as soon as possible." answered Ice automatically. "Communication between them can kill a prank."

"That's right." said Beetle. He checked the wall clock. "And J'onn should be taking care of that right now."

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_**Beetle and Ice had decided to take J'Onn up on his offer to talk afterall. They had explained the deception that Fire and Booster had perpertrated on them. They, also, explained their plan for revenge.**_

_**"During this season, do you really think revenge is such a good idea?" J'Onn asked.**_

_**Ice and Beetle answered in unison. "Yeah!"**_

_**"Alright." J'Onn shrugged. "I thought it my duty to ask. What do you want me to do?"**_

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

J'Onn approached Booster in the foyer. He pointed toward the still-dancing Fire. "I've never seen anyone so filled with Christmas joy."

"Oh." said Booster. "She's filled with **IT**, alright."

"I need you for a mission." J'Onn said simply to Booster.

"Me? What?" he asked with a shocked expression. He hadn't expected trouble on Christmas morning.

"Cranberry sauce." explained J'Onn.

"Cranberry sauce?" Booster looked perplexed.

"Beetle and Ice forgot to buy cranberry sauce." J'Onn said. "They said that there can be no Christmas dinner without cranberry sauce. I need you to find some and acquire it." J'Onn pulled out a five dollar bill. "Beetle said to make sure it is 'the canned stuff'."

"You want me to find a store open on Christmas day?"

"You are a resourceful young man, Booster." assured J'Onn as he put the sawbuck in Booster's hand and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll have no problem."

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guy Gardner had to admit he had a pretty sweet setup, even if he did say so himself. He had set up a mini-bar in the corner of the study, and he had an amazing variety of alcoholic beverages. And not just alcohol. He had mixers, juices, olives, limes, and lemons. Hell, he even bought salt in case anyone wanted a marguita.

Guy was set.

Guy was feeling good. Real good. Not only was he stocked in supplies, he was stocked in knowledge. He had read his bartender's guide cover to cover. Forwards and backwards. He tested himself, and when he didn't know the answer, he looked it up and wrote it down twenty times to make sure he didn't forget again. There wasn't a drink out there that he didn't know how to make. Period.

J'Onn J'onzz came over to inspect Guy's setup. Guy stood there with his chest pumped out. He knew even the Martian Manhunter himself couldn't find anything wrong with. It was perfect.

"Very nice, Guy." said J'Onn.

Guy's chest swelled just a little with pride at J'Onn's approval.

"But," continued J'Onn. "Haven't you forgotten something?"

"No way, Jose!" said Guy hotly. "I've got everything here to make any drink imaginable!"

J'Onn sighed the sigh of someone who'd have to explain something. He knew Guy worked hard at this, and the next part was not easy. "What did I put you in charge of, Guy?" asked J'Onn patiently.

"Drinks!" answered Guy quickly.

"Beverages." J'Onn corrected.

"Same thing." said Guy, not understanding where this conversation was leading.

J'Onn sighed again. "No, Guy. It is not. Aside from the small amounts of cola, ginger ale, and juices you have in the bar, there is nothing for those who wish to spend the day sober."

"Who'd want to spend the day sober?" asked Guy almost defensively.

J'Onn sighed yet again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many people in the metropolitan New York area got what they wished for: a "White Christmas". Three inches had fallen overnight, adding to the accumulation from previous days, and it was still flurrying at 9:00 in the morning. It made for a beautiful scene amongst all the Christmas decorations. Unless you had to walk through it.

Walking through the snow was exactly what Booster Gold was doing in his quest for a store that was open on Christmas day.

_"Cranberry sauce!"_ thought Booster as he pulled his parka tighter around his body. _"I'm out here freezing my butt off for CRANBERRY SAUCE! I don't even like the stuff!"_

A winter gust caught Booster right in the face and set his teeth to chattering._ "Stupid Beetle! Stupid Ice!" he thought. "If they wanted cranberry sauce so bad, why'd they forget it? Probably too busy flirting with each other!"_

Booster stopped and jumped up and down as he tried to pull his parka tighter.

"DAMNED!" he exclaimed aloud. "It's COLD out here!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the embassy's kitchen, Blue Beetle placed a can of cranberry sauce on the counter.

"I thought Booster was getting that." said Ice.

Beetle smiled wickedly. "He is. Apparently, we forgot to buy some when we went grocery shopping. And you just can't have Christmas dinner without cranberry sauce!"

Ice smiled. "Rule two."

Beetle nodded. "Now that sucker number one and sucker number two are seperated, it time for rule three. Do you know what to say?"

"Oh," said Ice modestly. "I think I've got it!"

A solemn look crossed Beetle's face as he put his hands on Ice's shoulders. "I want you to go out there, play with Bea's mind, confuse her, and frustrate her! Show no mercy!"

Ice gave Beetle the "thumbs up". She grabbed a tray of cookies (none of which either Beetle or Ice actually baked) and headed out to the study.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fire was standing near the Christmas tree, engrossed in thoughts of what presents were hers. She certainly hoped the big one in the silver/white paper was for her. In Fire's opinion, size always mattered. Especially, when you were talking about presents.

"Can't wait, can you?" Ice whispered in Fire's ear as she passed behind her.

Fire turned around to see Ice putting a tray of cookies on a table. Fire couldn't let the opportunity pass without trying to get some information. It just wasn't in her nature. She sidled beside Ice and talked quietly so that Guy, on the other side of the room near his mini-bar, couldn't hear.

"So, how long have you and Ted been working in the kitchen?" Fire started off innocently.

"Oh." said Ice, who appeared to get a little flustered. "We decided to get an early start. We have alot of things... work to do."

"Well, I certainly hope you two aren't working so hard that you can't enjoy the day." stated Fire, as she watched Ice for any indication of letting something slip.

"_Bea's playing this very subtle."_ thought Ice. _"Let's give her a little something."_

"No. Ted and I are..." Ice stopped suddenly and turned around.

Fire gave a little smile. "You and Ted are...?" she prodded Ice gently. Fire could see her best friend's cheeks getting red as she nervously tried to rearrange the cookies on the tray.

"C'mon, Tora." prodded Fire. "This is me!"

Ice looked as though she were weighing her options. She turned to Fire, but, shyly refused to look her in the eye. "I... I think you may have been right... about... you know... giving Ted a chance."

Inside, Fire was screaming like an exciteable schoolgirl and doing a little dance. Outwardly, though, Fire kept her cool. "Really?" she asked almost casually.

Ice smiled a little. "Yeah. I think so. He's really a sweet guy."

Ice congratulated herself on how well the plan was going. In fact, it was going exactly as Beetle predicted it would happen: Fire would start nosing around for more information after witnessing Beetle and Ice's little "intimate moment". Fire was a natural-born busybody and couldn't help herself.

"You have a very unique advantage." Ted had told her. "You look innocent and incapable of lying. People not only want to believe you - they're COMPELLED to believe you! Use that to your advantage!" She thought that her blushing was a masterstroke. She could practically see Fire jump out of her skin when she mentioned giving Ted a chance. Bea was eating it up with a spoon!

Ice had taken Beetle's advice to heart. And, now, was the time for the payoff!

"But, I'm not the only one with... something going on. Am I?" asked Ice slyly.

Fire knit her brow with confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Ice smiled. "C'mon, Bea! Booster told Ted. It's alright. I know."

"Know what?" asked Fire.

Ice tilted her head and smiled. "About you and Booster!"

Fire's heart leaped into her throat._ "If that coward squeeled on me,"_ thought Fire. _"So help me, I'll..."_

"You know." said Ice. "About you two being..." Her cheeks reddened and she shifted. "...**INTIMATE**."

"WHAT?" Fire was stunned. The idea itself was ridiculous. Ice stating it outloud was just ludicrous.

"To be honest," started Ice. "I'm a little hurt that you didn't tell me. Afterall, Booster had no problem telling Ted."

"Booster and I most certainly are NOT... intimate!" stated Fire definitively.

"You don't need to be ashamed of it." said Ice kindly.

"I'm not ashamed." argued Fire.

"Okay." said Ice. "There really is nothing to be ashamed of. Dating Booster isn't..."

Fire cut her off. "We are NOT DATING!"

Ice looked concerned. "Well, shouldn't you two have had at least one date **_before you slept with him_**?"

**"I DIDN'T SLEEP WITH HIM!"** protested Fire loudly. So loudly, in fact, that Guy looked up from his bar on the other side of the room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the embassy kitchen, Beetle was watching the exchange on his little hand-held monitor. He didn't need the earpiece to hear Fire's last comment.

He smiled as he watched the exchange and thought, "Man, Tora's really good at this!" He felt a pride swelling in his chest. To think, she had all that potential in her and just needed a little guidance in letting it out.

_"That's my girl!"_ thought Beetle and dabbed his eye with a napkin.

A little egg-timer chimed off.

"Oh, crap!" said Beetle, putting his misty moment behind him. "Time to baste the turkey."

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fire was upset and frustrated. "Tora," she said. "Listen to me. Booster and I are in no way, shape, or form either dating or sleeping with each other!"

Ice shook her head. "I don't know why you're being so... so... secretive about this."

Fire's frustration grew. _"Why was Tora being so obtuse about this?"_ thought Fire.

"Booster's not ashamed of your relationship." Ice argued.

"There is NO relationship!" an exasperated Fire stated. "Booster's lying!"

Ice looked confused. "Why would Booster lie to Ted, his best friend?"

"Why would I lie to **YOU**?" asked Fire.

Fire never realized the irony of her question, but, Ice did.

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A big smile crossed Booster's frozen face.

A Korean mini-mart stood before him. AND it was open!

Booster walked into the store, out of the cold into some blessed heat. He stood there for a second just enjoying the warmth. He could've sworn he felt some of feeling come back to his toes.

"Help you?" asked a short, middle-aged Korean man. Obviously, the owner of the store.

Booster gave him his most winning smile. "Yes, my good man." he said. "You can help me. Do you have any cranberry sauce?" Booster held his breath. Hoping - PRAYING - that this little shop would have some.

"Aisle behind you." said the grocer in a clipped tone.

Booster's eyes twinkled as he spun around and looked through the aisle. And looked. And looked. He couldn't find a can of cranberry sauce. In fact, he couldn't find any cans. Just bottles of beverages. Bottled water, sodas, juices - grapefruit juice, apple juice, cranberry...

Booster winced. He grabbed a bottle of cranberry juice and walked up to the counter.

"Do you have any cranberry **SAUCE**? asked Booster.

The grocer pointed at the bottle in Booster's hand.

Booster shook his head. "No. Not **JUICE**." He pointed out the word "juice" on the bottle. "**SAUCE**. Cranberry **SAUCE**!"

The grocer had a look of recognition. "No. No sauce. Juice."

Booster hung his head, put the bottle on the counter, and walked out the door.

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"Where is he?" an angry Fire asked as she barged into the embassy's kitchen.

"Who?" asked Beetle, who was bent over the open oven door, basting the turkey.

"Booster!" snarled Fire. She wasn't paying attention when J'Onn sent Booster out.

Beetle looked up and smiled at her. "Your **_paramour_**?"

Fire's eyes flashed dangerously as she pointed at Beetle. "Don't you start!" she warned.

"You kids!" chided Beetle. "Like a couple of lovebirds who can't keep their beaks off each other!"

Fire growled. "WHERE. IS. HE?" she repeated.

"I think he went up to his room." Beetle said as he pointed ceilingward.

Fire turned on her heels and strided out the door. But, not until after getting one more comment from Beetle.

"Now, don't you two take all day up there!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Untold Tales of the JLI: "Home"_**

**Part 4**

Fire was furious. Actually, she was beyond furious. If the solar system were her mood, furious would be Venus. And she was past Pluto._** Way past Pluto!**_

She'd spent the better part of an hour searching the embassy for Booster, and it seemed like she missed him by minutes everywhere she went. She went to the kitchen, Beetle told her he was in his room. She went upstairs, J'Onn told her he was downstairs. She went to the study, Ice told her he was in the monitor room. And on and on.

The more Fire searched for Booster, the madder she got.

Fire couldn't believe that Booster actually told Beetle that she slept with him. How ridiculous was that? And Beetle told Ice. God only knew how many other people Booster told. Fire was bound and determined to end all the rumors by wringing Booster's neck.

_"Wait until I get my hands on him!"_ she thought. _"I'm gonna tear him apart! I'm gonna tear him apart, stitch him back together, and tear him apart again!"_

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Booster was having a miserable time. He was cold and frustrated. He'd spent the last hour and half searching for a can of cranberry sauce. Or more specifically, a store that was open on Christmas day that sold cranberry sauce. He'd found three mini-marts that were open, and all three didn't carry cranberry sauce.

Booster never really liked cranberry sauce, but, was starting to loathe it now!

Booster had enough! He dropped to his knees and shouted heavenward. "Why, God? Why can't I find one stinkin', lousy can of cranberry sauce? Is that too much to ask?" Booster lowered his head and cried out,"One stinkin', lousy can of cranberry sauce?"

Booster jumped up and spun around as something landed behind him. He looked down at a snowbank and there, lo and behold, was a can of cranberry sauce! Booster looked all around (including up) and couldn't see anywhere that the can could have come from.

Booster bent down and gently, with the utmost reverence, picked the can up.

"Thank you." Booster said to no one in particular.

_"Ah. Who cares where it came from?"_ thought Booster as he mentally shrugged. _"At least, I can go home now!"_

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When Booster kissed the can, turned, and started running home, J'Onn re-entered the visible spectrum. He had hovered two stories over Booster, listening to his tantrum. Booster's little conversation with God had given J'Onn the opportunity to deliver the can of cranberry sauce.

_"Time to get back to the embassy before I'm missed."_ thought J'Onn as he flew away.

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Back at the embassy, Guy's patience had worn thin. He couldn't understand why no one wanted a drink. How was he supposed to show off his mixology skills if no one wanted a drink?

Guy was reduced to practicing his skills, and, since Guy hated wasting alcohol, imbibing his own concoctions. Every drink Guy made, he had to admit was the best he ever tried. The Manhattan, the martini, the mint julip, the screwdriver... Every one of them was GREAT!

Guy was mulling over why he had no customers when Ice walked up to him.

"Guy," she said with the sweetest, most innocent smile. "I need you to do me a favor, but, not ask why."

"Have a drink." responded Guy.

"No. Thanks." answered Ice. "You know I don't..."

Guy cut her off. "If you want me to do you a favor - no questions asked - have a drink." Guy crossed his arms as if to tell her that this was non-negotiable.

Ice thought it over. She really wanted Guy's help, but, she didn't like alcohol. To her, it tasted terrible, and she saw no appeal in drinking it.

"Mmmmmm... Okay!" Ice relented. "But, just ONE!" She held up one finger to illustrate the point.

Guy beamed. He grabbed a short glass, put some ice cubes in it, and filled the glass from a bottle with the words "Old Granddad" on it. He handed the glass to Ice.

Ice took the glass and sniffed the contents. She immediately recoiled from the "model glue" smell. Ice pinched her nose and hesitantly brought the glass to her lips. She downed the contents in one quick gulp. The alcohol immediately felt like lava going down her throat and burning her lungs.

Guy seemed almost amused as Ice suffered a coughing jag.

"Okay." said Guy. "Whatya want me to do?"

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Ice reentered the kitchen and announced to Beetle in a raspy voice, "He'll do it."

Beetle immediately recoiled from Ice. "Whoa! You smell like my dear 'Old Granddad'!" he said as he tried to fan some air away from his face. "Stay away from any open flames!"

"How can anybody ever drink that STUFF?" croaked Ice.

"Well, why did you?" asked Beetle, as he noticed Ice's awfully rosey cheeks.

"Had to." she replied as she filled a glass with water. "It was the only way to get Guy to do it!" She looked at Beetle pointedly. "I took one for the team!"

Beetle smiled at that as he opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of chocolate milk. "Here." he said as he handed the carton to Ice. "It has a stronger flavor than the water."

Ice dumped the water in the sink and filled the glass with chocolate milk. She took a long gulp of it and sighed. The chocolate milk had not only soothed the burning in her throat and lungs, it washed that awful taste out of her mouth. "That's the GOOD stuff!" she said as she smacked her lips.

Beetle handed a confused Ice a towel. "You have a 'milk moustache'." he explained with a smile.

Ice took the towel and demurely wiped her mouth.

Beetle pulled another glass from the cabinet and filled it with chocolate milk. He refilled Ice's glass and handed it to her.

"To well executed plan." he toasted as he clinked her glass.

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Fire walked back into the study. Her frustration was mounting. She could not find Booster anywhere. The longer she went without finding him, the more sadistic her plan for him became when she did find him.

"Hey, Bea!" Guy called out from the other side of the room.

When Fire turned, Guy raised the glass he was holding.

"To you and Booster." he announced as he downed the contents.

**_"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!"_** screamed Fire as she stalked out of the room.

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Booster swaggered through the front door of the embassy.

"All hail the conquering hero!" he proclaimed as he held the can of cranberry sauce high.

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From the kitchen, both Beetle and Ice had heard Booster's proclaimation. They looked at each other and smiled.

If they heard Booster, then, Fire heard Booster.

"This should be good!" Beetle said sadistically.

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**_"YOU!"_** Fire bellowed at Booster from the doorway of the foyer.

Booster noticed that her face was red. She had a wild look in her eyes. Instict immediately took over, and Booster was (rightfully) scared! A little voice in Booster's head said, _"RUN! Run fast! Run now!"_

Booster listened to the little voice in his head and made a fast break for the steps, the dropped can spinning on the floor. Booster's long legs allowed him to take three steps at a time, but, Fire was hot on his heels.

Booster ran as fast as he could. He had flashbacks of scrambling on the football field to avoid being sacked by linebackers and safeties. But, most of those players didn't want to kill Booster. He was pretty sure that Fire DID.

He didn't understand why Fire wanted to kill him. He played along with Fire's plan. He did his best to convince Beetle that Ice was interested in him. Even when Booster had an attack of conscience, he kept his mouth shut about Fire's plan.

Whatever reason Fire had for being mad at him, Booster wasn't going to stick around to find out. He saw the look in Fire's eyes and, he wasn't afraid to admit it, it scared him. And the fact that Fire took off after him when he ran just confirmed that he need to put as much distance between himself and Fire as he could. At least until she calmed down.

Booster looked over his shoulder and realized that, despite his athletic background and superiority in stride, Fire was gaining on him! And she looked like a cheetah running down a gazelle, the gazelle realized.

_"My room!"_ thought Booster desperately._ "If I can reach my room, I can get my suit and use the forcefield until Bea calms down."_

Booster made a desperation dash for his room. He got to the door, but, the process of turning the knob slowed him down just long enough for Fire to hit him with a flying tackle. The impact of the tackle knocked them both through the door. The door hit the doorstop on the wall hard enough that it slammed shut behind Booster and Fire.

As Booster laid stunned on the floor, Fire got on top of him and tried to wrap her hands around his throat. Booster recovered enough to grasp Fire's wrists in attempt to stop her from throttling him. He was shocked to realize it was a battle he was losing. Whatever mania had over taken Fire, it was giving her unnatural strength. And, honestly, it was a little embarassing that a 5'7" woman was overpowering a 6'5" former football player.

Booster managed to get out one word as he struggled for his life. "Why?"

"Why? **_WHY_**!" repeated Fire through gritted teeth, her eyes blazing. "Oh, I don't know! Maybe because you told Ted** I SLEPT WITH YOU**!"

"WHAT?" Booster managed as Fire got her hands around his throat. "I didn't say th-!"

Booster's argument got cutoff with his air supply as Fire squeezed down on Booster's throat. With his last breath, Booster managed two words: "H-he... KN-KNOWS!"

That stopped Fire for a second. She loosened her grip... a little. "What do you mean 'he knows'?"

Booster gulped in some air. "Ted knows! He figured out we suckered him!" he explained quickly.

"How could he figure that out?" Fire asked, not releasing her grip.

"He may act it sometimes, but, Ted's not stupid!" Booster desperately explained as quickly as he could. "He must've gotten wind I suckered him. He probably figured out you put me up to it, and he turned the tables. You wanted to trick him into a relationship, so, he tricked you into thinking people thought WE were having a relationship! He knew you'd go ballistic and try to kill me!"

"How can you be sure?" Fire asked warily.

"Because I **_NEVER_** told Ted we were sleeping together! I wouldn't joke about that because that's the kind of thing that WOULD set you off."

Fire let go of Booster's throat. "That means Tora knows, too. Because she's the one that told me that you told Ted. AND it means they worked together to trick me!"

"Probably." said Booster as he rubbed his throat. "If Ted figured it out, he wasn't going to keep Tora in the dark. And they're both smart enough to realize that if we were both trying to convince them of the same thing, we were working together."

Fire hated to admit it, but, it made sense. It explained why Tora was acting so obtuse when Fire was trying to explain that there was no relationship between herself and Booster. But, that would mean Tora was an actual participant in an act of revenge. The thought stunned Fire. Her best friend was scheming against her, and Fire had been the cause of all of it.

"What have I done?" Fire asked, as realization dawned on her.

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Guy Gardner felt loose. Really loose.

Guy was singing along with the Christmas carols that were playing on the stereo. He had made a ring construct Santa hat and was wearing it proudly.

He felt JOLLY!

"HO-HO-HO!" Guy slurred as he downed another example of his fine, fine mixology skills.

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In the kitchen, Ice was beginning to worry.

She and Beetle had watched Fire's reaction to Booster's entrance on Beetle's hand-held monitor. They, also, watched the subsequant rundown and tackle into Booster's room. Once the door shut, however, their ability to watch ended. Beetle's tapping of the security system didn't extend to members' rooms.

Ice expected Fire to be mad at Booster. Afterall, that was the plan. However, she didn't expect Fire to get THAT mad. Fire bolted after Booster like a bull seeing a red cape. Fire was practically incoherant as she ran Booster down. When the door shut to Booster's room, Ice started to worry more.

"They've been in there awhile." Ice said nervously.

"Uh-huh." said Beetle, his brow knit. Ice could tell he was worried, too.

"It's been awfully quiet, too." Ice added as she bit her lower lip.

"Yeah." Beetle said. "Maybe we pushed Bea a little too far."

Ice looked at Beetle with an expression of concern. Ice had never heard Beetle admit to taking a joke too far. For him to admit that, Ice realized, Beetle must have been really worried.

"Bea wouldn't actually hurt Booster, would she?" Beetle asked Ice. "I know she has a wicked temper and all, but, she'd just yell at him and scare him. Right?"

Ice wished she could've said something to reassure Beetle, but, all she could think of was, "I don't know. I've never seen her **that** mad."

Beetle and Ice just stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds. At the exact same moment, both realized what they needed to do.

Both bolted out of the kitchen as fast as they could.

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"What have I done?" Fire repeated. There was genuine remorse in her voice. She realized that she had caused the sweetest person in the world - her best friend no less - to turn into a... a callous deceiver!

She was still on top of Booster. But, her hands were now resting on Booster's chest and her head hung low.

"I...I've turned my best friend against me." Fire said quietly, her voice filled with despair.

Booster just laid there and watched Fire's emotional breakdown. He was still too scared to say or do anything that might set Fire off again. He was determined not to say anything until he was sure that Fire had calmed down.

Then, Booster felt something wet patter off his throat.

Booster looked up at Fire and realized she was crying. Booster had seen Fire when she was sad, but, he never saw her sad enough to cry.

"Bea?" Booster asked with genuine concerned, all thought of personal safety put on the backburner.

Fire wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed. "I'm sorry about... you know... trying to kill you."

Booster propped himself up on his elbows. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"No." Fire answered, her eyes tearing up again. "Not really. I just realized I drove away the only person I care for more than myself. Tora's never going to talk to me again."

"That's not true." said Booster trying to console her. "Tora'll forgive you. You're her best friend!"

"Some best friend I turned out to be." said Fire sadly. "I tricked her into thinking Ted was sick with love for her. I used Tora's own concern for her friends against her. And, then, I used guilt to re-enforce it!"

"Hey! Hey!" said Booster. "Sure you tricked her. And lied to her. And messed with her mind..."

Fire hung her head again.

"But, what you did, you did out of LOVE!" Booster said. "And I'm sure Tora will understand that."

Fire looked hopefully at Booster. "Do you think?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sure of it!" stated Booster. "But, you'd better be prepared to apologize like you've never apologized before."

Fire smiled a little, wrapped her arms around Booster's neck, and hugged him.

Just then, the door to Booster's room flew open. A very concerned-looking Ice and Beetle started to come through the door. They stopped in their tracks and stared in a state of shock at the scene before them.

Booster became acutely aware of his position. He was laying prone on the floor. Fire was sitting on his pelvic region with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Booster yelled quickly in a panic.

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_"There was a time when I was afraid to shut my eyes._

_"I knew that when I slept, the dream would come. And that I would relive the horrors once again._

_"I was a prisoner to my own subconscious._

_"There is a saying on Earth: 'Time heals all wounds'._

_"I believe that saying is false."_

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Blue Beetle had to admit it. Seeing Fire straddled atop of Booster while hugging him wasn't what he expected to see when he opened the door to Booster's room. He looked over at Ice and saw that her reaction was pretty much the same as his. And here they thought they were going to prevent a terrible tragedy.

"I don't know what you two are doing," Beetle said slowly, a smile starting to creep upon his face. "But, it looks **_kinky_**!"

Booster looked up at Beetle with a less-than-amused expression. "That kinda talk almost got me killed, ya know." he said to Beetle.

Beetle snapped his fingers and shook his head as though he were disappointed. "Darn! Better luck next time, I guess!"

Fire quickly got off of Booster and straightened out her clothes, almost as an afterthought. She looked a little preoccupied, as though a lot of thoughts were going around in her head. "We need to talk." she finally said to Ice.

Ice stood in the doorway and crossed her arms. "Oh? Do we?" she asked. She was determined not to make this easy on Fire.

Fire nodded as if she accepted the fact that Ice had reason to be difficult. "Please." Fire said.

Ice thought about it for a second, then motioned for Fire to come out in the hall with her.

As Fire walked out the door, Beetle shut it and said to Booster, "We need to have a little talk, too, sunshine."

"Yeah." said Booster as he sat on his bed, unzipped his parka, and sighed. "I know."

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In the hallway, Fire had a hard time thinking of what to say to Ice. It wasn't easy when you knew you were in the wrong. "I want to say I'm sorry." Fire started with.

"And what are you sorry about?" asked Ice, determined to play hardball with Fire. "Getting caught?"

"No." said Fire. "I'm sorry about what I did to you."

"What you did to me." repeated Ice. She was mad, and, this time, she was not going to let her friend off the hook for it. "Let me tell you exactly what you did to me. You lied to me. Worse. You had me believing I was hurting Ted unintentionally. Then, you used my own concern against me by guilting me into doing something I didn't want to do."

Fire looked down. "I know."

Just having to replay the events over in her mind angered Ice even more. "I couldn't sleep last night! Did you know that? I couldn't sleep because I DO care about Ted. Just not in a romantic way. And you put me in a position where I thought I was going to have to hurt him!"

Fire didn't know about Ice being so concerned she couldn't sleep. And, it made her feel worse than before. Fire couldn't think of anything to say.

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"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Beetle asked Booster.

"I found your cranberry sauce." Booster replied hopefully.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" snapped an aggitated Beetle. "How could you? How could you trick me?"

"It was Fire's idea." explained Booster quickly, a touch of remorse in his voice. "She thought..."

Beetle cut him off and waved his hands. "I don't care about what motivated you into suckering me!" Beetle said. "I want to know **_HOW_** you suckered me? How'd you do it?"

Booster was shocked and confused by this. "You want to know **_how_** I did it?" he asked unbelievingly.

Beetle nodded his head. "I know WHY you did it." he explained. "I could figure that part out on my own. Bea probably pressured you or threatened you into doing it because she doesn't like the fact that Gardner's dating Tora. I just happened to be the best option currently available. What was Bea gonna do?" Beetle almost laughed when he asked his last question. "Ask **YOU** to try to seduce Tora?"

"HEY!" said an offended Booster.

"No offense." said Beetle, clearly too late. "But you don't exactly have a sterling reputation when it comes to the ladies. And I just can't see over-protective Bea setting Tora up with YOU!"

That ruffled Booster feathers, but, he had to admit that Beetle was right. There was no way in Hell that Fire would "entrust" Tora to him.

"So," said Beetle. "That brings us back to the question of **_HOW_** you suckered me."

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Fire could see how upset Ice was, but, she just didn't have any type of defense she could explain to Ice. Fire searched for the words, but, none were available to her. And it upset her that Ice was so upset.

Ice was frustrate by the total lack of response she was getting from Fire. "When I found out that you could trick me so cavilierly- so remorselessly- I was hurt!" said Ice. "Is that why you did it? To hurt me?"

"NO!" said Fire, shocked that Ice could have even thought that. "You being hurt is the last thing I want to happen." Fire did everything she could - all of this - to make sure Ice wouldn't be hurt. And it dawned on her that she was causing the very thing that she was trying her hardest to stop.

Fire had always maintained a certain attitude - a "bitchy" attitude some people called it - to keep people at a certain distance. She wasn't one to let people see her "softer side". She was insecure about being seen as "weak" because weak people didn't survive on the streets of Rio de Janiero. All this made it more difficult for her to say what she had to say to Ice.

"You... you know I grew up an orphan." Fire started. "I never really had a family. I.. I never really had any friends either. Just acquaintences and people I knew. But, never really any friends." Fire stopped to think about how she was going to put the next part. "It... it wasn't until I got to the Global Guardians and Doctor Mist assigned me to... to help... 'acclimate' this wide-eyed, little girl from Norway, who was so scared to be away from her people..."

Fire had to stop. She was starting to choke up and had to take a second to compose herself. She pictured Ice back from her time in the Global Guardians. Ice was so scared of this new world shesuddenly found herselfin. It shocked Fire that Doctor Mist had assigned her - someone so jaded by life - to help this scared little girl. But, the more Fire worked with her, the more she came to appreciate just how special Ice was. Ice had all those qualities Fire wished she had for herself. What started out as an 'assignment' turned into something that Fire thought she'd never have - a real friendship.

Ice wasn't immune to the fact that what Fire was saying was hard for her. She could see that this was difficult for Fire, who rarely let her guard down with anyone. And, as compassionate as Ice was, her heart went out to Fire.

"I... I don't ever want to be the one to hurt you." continued Fire, her eyes tearing up. "Because you're not only my friend, but... but... you're like a sister to me. You're the only family I've ever had. And... and I don't want to lose that. I don't know what I'd ever do if I lost that! I... I'm so sorry that I hurt you." Fire broke down and started sobbing.

Ice hugged Fire, and Fire held on as though she were afraid to let go. "You'll never lose that." Ice told Fire as she smiled slightly. "You'll always be my 'big sister'."

Fire buried her face into Ice's shoulder.

"You know I'm not that 'wide-eyed, little girl' anymore." Ice said quietly into Fire's ear, as she patted her back. "And I know that you don't like Guy, but, I can make my own choices. I don't need you to 'protect' me anymore."

"I know." sobbed Fire into Ice's shoulder. "But, I can't help but worry."

"Oh, Bea." Ice smiled sadly. "You always did care too much."

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Booster shrugged at Beetle's question. "I don't know." he said.

"BULL!" responded Beetle quickly. "You've gotto know. I can smell one of your 'con-job' from a mile away, but, you got me on this one! And now you're going to tell me you don't know how you pulled it off? I don't buy it!"

Booster thought about their conversation from the previous night. "Well, I guess I set you up by using your ego first." Booster said as he dissected the conversation. "No matter how much you want to protest that you and Tora are just friends, she is still a very attractive woman. And the thought that she might be interested in you appealled to your ego."

Beetle nodded. He had to admit that was true. The thought of an attractive woman being attracted to him did work on his ego.

Booster continued his "post mortem" of their conversation. "Then I gave you a believable premise. That Tora finally realized that 'jerky' Gardner was the 'real' Gardner, and that she was confused in her feelings."

Beetle thought THAT was just truly inspired by Booster. It was the lynchpin in getting Beetle to believe. Without it, he would have blown Booster's argument off, no questions asked.

"And finally," finished Booster, almost proudly. "I smothered the whole thing in guilt! I know you don't like Guy. Who does?So, I set the scenario in your mind that if you DIDN'T do something about it, Tora'd be condemned to spend the rest of her life with Gardner."

"**WOW**!" Beetle said after a moment. He shook his head. It was like Booster had created the perfect "suckering Beetle" recipe: guilt, ego, and logic! He hated to say it, but, Booster's plan was magnificent.

Booster had to smile at Beetle's awe. "But," Booster said, a little sadness in his voice. "It was doomed to fail. And, even as I was doing it to you, I knew it wouldn't work."

Beetle was confused. "Then why...?"

"You said you could smell one of my 'con-jobs' from a mile away." Booster said. "But, you didn't see this one coming. Maybe it was because - no matter how much you want to convince me or even yourself that you and Tora are just friends - you WANTED to believe. Or maybe it was because I wasn't trying to con you. Despite the fact that I didn't like trying to trick you into something with Tora, I still did it because, on some level, I thought it was the best thing to do."

Beetle thought about that for a second. "Then why did you think it was doomed to fail?"

Booster gave a sad little laugh. "Because, above everything else, Ted Kord is a 'stand-up guy'." Booster shook his head. "No matter how much you dislike Guy, there was no way you were going to make any move on Tora if you thought Guy was still in the picture. That would be 'moving in on another guy's woman'. And that's just not you. You're too much of a 'stand-up guy'."

Beetle sat down on the bed next to Booster. He spent the next minute just thinking about all that Booster had said.

"Damn!" said Booster, upset with himself. "I knew I shouldn't have let Fire convince me to do this."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Beetle said sadly. "You can't help it if you're chicken-poop!"

Booster turned on his friend. "I am not chicken-poop!" he argued.

Beetle shook his head. "You're the poopiest of chicken-poop! When Fire chased you up the steps, you were practically screaming like a girl!"

"Oh, like you wouldn't be running if a p.o.ed Fire were chasing you?" asked Booster skeptically.

"Oh, I'd be running!" said Beetle with a smile. "But, I wouldn't be screaming like a girl! Like a woman, maybe, but not a girl."

"So, you admit you're chicken-poop, too?" asked Booster with a smirk.

"I think everyone has their level of chicken-poopedness." Beetle said. "You're just poopier than most!"

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_"Time does not heal all wounds._

_"But, time does provide understanding for those willing to see it._

_"Time has eased the pain of my dreams because I see my dreams for what they truly are._

_"They are a personal portal to the past."_

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

J'Onn J'Onzz shook his head.

_"These people are incredible!"_ he thought. "_I plan to have this Christmas dinner to bring them together. Everything conceivable goes wrong. Lies. Betrayal. Revenge. And yet..." J'Onn shook his head again. "And yet they find a way to do exactly what I wanted! If I had hair, it would be gray!"_

J'Onn walked into the study. He found a clearly inebriated Guy Gardner, ring construct Santa hat rakishly cocked to one side of his head, singing "Feliz Navidad". Even Guy was enjoying Christmas in his own way.

"J'Onny!" Guy called out when he saw him. "Come on over here and have a drink, ya big-ass stiff!"

J'Onn walked over toward Guy's mini-bar.

"What are ya havin', big man?" Guy slurred.

"Whatever your most powerful drink is." said J'Onn. "And make it a double!"

Guy was shocked, but, a slow smile crept over his alcohol reddened face.

"Now, THASS the Christmas spirit I'm talkin' about!"

Surprisingly, J'Onn J'Onzz had enjoyed the drink Guy Gardner made for him. It was both aromatic and flavorful. The alcohol didn't affect his Martian physiology as it would a human's. In fact, the alcohol only served to make J'Onn thirsty. _"Probably a bit dehydrating."_ J'Onn thought as he walked into the kitchen.

He poured himself a glass of milk, sat at the kitchen table, and reflected on the day so far.

Guy had rebuked him once for calling his fellow teammates "the children". At the time, J'Onn meant it facitiously. But, upon reflection, he realized that he didn't think of them as "the children". He thought of them as "HIS children".

They were loud and obnoxious and embarrassing at times. But then, what children weren't at times?

J'Onn had been in every incarnation of the Justice League. From the very beginning until the present. In that time, he had made many friends and felt an attachment to them all. But, the five people in the embassy held a level of attachment that no others, save Gypsy (_"Who is more mature than most here." _thought J'Onn), had attained. Even Guy, the "problem child" of the group.

Perhaps it was the fact that they all lived in such close proximity to one another, or perhaps it was just their make-up, but, this team was more... _**familial**_ than the other versions of the Justice League. And, oddly enough, J'Onn realized that he preferred it that way.

At first, J'Onn didn't want the leadership role in this group. Batman had referred to it as "babysitting". However, over time, J'Onn realized that not only did he fill the role readily, but that the role filled something that was missing in him. He realized that his time as a nurturer - a "father" - had been cut short. And, while he missed his daughter and his wife, he missed filling that role, too.

This version of the League allowed him to do that. Whether playing the role of disciplinarian or councillor or "father-figure", J'Onn realized that it was a role he was aching for subconsciously. He had lost a family on Mars, but, this League allowed him the opportunity to have a family on Earth.

J'Onn's thoughts were interrupted as Beetle came flying into the kitchen, quickly followed by Ice. Both ignored J'Onn on their way to the oven. Beetle opened the oven door and peered in. He closed the oven door, leaned back against the counter, and began patting his chest.

"Whew!" he sighed wearily. "Still good!"

Ice wiped some sweat from her brow. "Thank God!" she said in a relieved voice. "J'Onn would kill us if..."

"No, he wouldn't." said J'Onn quietly from the table as both Beetle and Ice jumped. "He thinks you're both doing a fine job."

"Uh. Thanks." said Beetle a little nervously.

J'Onn rose from his chair. "When will dinner be ready?" he asked.

"Uhm... About half an hour." answered Ice.

"Very well." said J'Onn as he was leaving the kitchen. "Hopefully, Guy will still be conscious by then."

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Ice was as good as her word. The dinner was ready to serve when she said it would be.

J'Onn was actually impressed by all the preparation Ice and Beetle had done. There were four vegetables (mashed potatoes, corn, baby carrots, and yams), two kinds of stuffing (bread and potato), gravy, and, of course, cranberry sauce (sliced, but, still retaining its canned shape).

Fire had time to "fix her face", as she did not want to sit at dinner with "raccoon eyes".

Booster had changed into a turtleneck sweater in order to hide the bruising aroung his throat.

Guy was swaying in his seat. He had an almost angelic smile to go with his droopy eyes.

When Ice held the kitchen door open for Beetle to bring out the turkey, the table filled with "ooh"s and "ahh"s. Beetle did not disappoint. The turkey looked and smelled wonderful.

As the team ate dinner, J'Onn had to admit that Beetle and Ice surpassed themselves. Not only was the dinner edible, it was delicious. J'Onn made a mental note of this for the next time that Beetle found himself on K.P. duty (as J'Onn had no doubt he inevitably would).

When dinner was finished, with bellies full (Beetle's more full than most with cranberry sauce. As it turned out, he really did love the stuff and finished off most of it himself), the team retreated to the study for the highlight of the night: the opening of presents!

As the rest of the team gathered on the sofa or in the chairs around it, J'Onn positioned himself by the tree. It was his duty as head of this little "family" to hand out the presents. J'Onn reached under the tree and pulled out the first present and looked at the card.

"This one is for Tora." said J'Onn. "From Booster."

Beetle almost choked on his drink when Ice opened the box to reveal a pink and white tee shirt with the word **"cutie"** spelled out in glittering letters.

"I love it!" said a smiling Ice to Booster, although Beetle got the feeling she didn't.

"The next present is for Guy. From Beetle." announced J'Onn.

Guy almost fell down as he stumbled to get the present. Ice helped him open it, as Guy's manual dexterity suffered from the amount of alcohol he'd consumed. When Guy opened the box, he found a framed "Sports Illustrated" cover showing a Michigan football player celebrating in the endzone. The caption on the cover read "Safety Margin". Guy began to tear up.

"Thass me!" he said pointing to the cover for Ice. It was Guy. He was a strong safety in his college football days and had picked off a USC pass and ran it in for a touchdown during the Rose Bowl. It was, as Guy put it, "one of the greatest moments" of his life.

Beetle heard Guy tell that story over and over (and _**over and over**_). Guy mentioned he was on the cover of "Sports Illustrated", but, Guy never had a copy of it. Beetle tracked one down.

Fire leaned over and whispered into Booster's ear. "Damn! You were right! He is good at this."

"This is from Booster, to Ted." said J'Onn as he passed the present to Beetle.

Beetle opened the package to find a toy phaser from "Star Trek" (with working lights and sound). Beetle acted like he loved it - and he did. Which is why he already had one.

"Next is for Fire." said J'Onn as Fire squeeled. "...From Guy."

Fire opened the present cautiously to find a teddy. As in very (VERY!) sheer sleepware, not a bear. Fire also noticed it was a size too small. "Fantastic." she said less-than-enthusiastically.

"The next present is, also, for Fire." said J'Onn as Fire squeeled again. "From Booster."

As Fire leaned over to get the present she whispered to Booster, "If this is lingerie, you're dead."

Luckily for Booster, he went with clothing, but, not lingerie, and got her a pair of kelly green leather boots (Fire noted pleasingly they were in the correct size). They were both gaudy and expensive.

"Next is from Tora. To... me." said J'Onn. He opened the present to find a leather-bound book entitled "Mars" from "National Geographic". It was filled with pictures of Mars from the earliest Viking probe days to the present. J'Onn actually smiled as he turned to a picture that reminded him of his home.

"Thank you." he said to Tora sincerely. He placed the book down and picked up the next present. "Booster. This is from Beetle."

Booster anxiously opened the present and found a modern day University of Metropolis football jersey with his old (or more technically correct "his future") number on it and the name "Carter" on the back.

He smiled at Beetle. "Very cool." he said as he slipped it on over his turtleneck.

"Ted..." J'Onn presented the present to Beetle. "From Tora."

Beetle opened it to find a Chicago snowglobe with miniature versions of the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, and Water Tower Place in it.

Fire elbowed Booster in the ribs.

"Turn it over." Ice said to Beetle.

Beetle turned the snowglobe over. Written on the bottom was: "Shake well to re-live 'blue' winters". Beetle had to smile at that.

"What were you saying about 'stupid' gifts?" Booster whispered to Fire.

"Booster..." J'Onn said. "From Guy."

Booster knit his brow as he opened the box. He immediately closed it and put the box down. "Thanks, Guy." he mumbled.

"What'd you get?" asked a very curious Fire.

"A dvd." replied Booster.

"What's the title?" Beetle asked with a bemused smile. He had an idea where this was going.

"'The Erotic Adventures of Mistress Spandex and the Spandex Brigade'!" Guy announced loudly. "Ol' golden butt's favorite rental. I thought I'd buy him his own copy!"

"Porn" Fire mouthed to a confused Ice. Ice blushed.

Booster sat there with his hand over his face and motioned for J'Onn to go on.

"Beetle..." J'Onn had a shadow of a smile. "From Guy."

Beetle cringed as he took the present. When he opened it he found a custom-made Blue Beetle "bobblehead".

"Hit the head! Hit the head!" said Guy excitedly.

Beetle nodded his head as he knew where this one was going, too. He tapped the head and, after the third bobble, the figures pants dropped revealing little heart covered boxer shorts. Guy's little slice of revenge for that prank Beetle pulled on him during one of Guy's dates with Ice.

"Cute." Beetle said with a tight smile as Guy guffawed.

"Bea..." J'Onn said. "From Tora."

Fire slowly opened the present and found a very early group shot of the Global Guardians. As Fire looked at the picture, she recognized it as Ice's very first public appearance as a Global Guardian. She smiled at how young both of them looked in the picture, standing side-by-side.

Ice smiled as Fire wiped an eye and said, "Dammit! Don't make me get all misty again!"

"Next is a present for Guy. From Fire." J'Onn said holding an envelope.

Ice opened it for the slowly sinking Guy. It was a $35.00 gift certificate for the Liquor Emporium.

"I can use that!" slurred Guy.

Ice shot Fire a look, and Fire just shrugged as if to say "what else was I suppose to give him".

"Hmmm... next is a present for me. From Booster." said J'onn. J'Onn opened the box and it contained a rather large "Nutcracker"-style marionette.

"Pull the arm down." said Booster.

J'Onn obliged, and the marionette dispensed an Oreo cookie out of its mouth. J'Onn just shook his head. And continued on with the presents.

"Beetle... From Bea." said J'Onn as he past the present.

Beetle opened the box up and found a very nice 1969 "Throwback" Chicago Cubs away jersey. "Sweet!" said Beetle with a big grin. "It's even got Ron Santo's number on the back!" Much like Booster had done with his present, Beetle slipped it on for size.

"Tora..." J'Onn continued. "From Bea."

Ice opened the box and pulled out a crystal statue of two baby seals. The words "Best Friends" engraved on the base. Ice smiled and had to blink to keep from getting misty herself. "I love it!" Ice said and meant it.

"I thought you said crystal was stupid." Booster whispered to Fire.

"I changed my mind." answered Fire. "It's my perogative."

"Tora. Another one." J'Onn said. "From Guy."

Ice opened her present as everyone else held their collective breath. Ice pulled out an antique jewelry box. When she opened the lid, a tiny ice skater twirled around to the sound of tinny music. Ice smiled and said, "Thank you, Guy. It's beautiful."

The rest were shocked that Guy had given such a thoughtful gift (that didn't involve pornography or lingerie).

"Booster." J'Onn announced. "From Tora."

Booster quickly tore open the box and found a high end arctic parka. From the tag, he could see it was "Guaranteed The WARMEST Parka On The Market!". Enclosed was a note which read: "Sorry I couldn't give you Florida. I hope this will keep you warm."

"Next is for Bea." J'Onn said as Fire squeeled again. "From Ted."

Fire unwrapped the gift to find a pair of gold, flame-shaped, daggling earrings. They weren't gaudy and expensive... They were _**GOD-AWFUL**_ gaudy and expensive. And Fire absolutely adored them!

As she hugged him, Fire whispered to a shocked Beetle, "Meet me under the mistletoe for a better show of my appreciation!"

"Guy..." J'Onn said. "From Booster."

Again Ice had to open Guy's gift. She opened the box for Guy to reveal the latest NCAA football video game.

"Ha!" slurred Guy. "I can whup Beetle's butt in that now!"

J'Onn looked at the next present. "For me. From Bea."

"You're a poet, and didn't even kn-OWWW!" started Booster before Fire elbowed him.

J'Onn opened the present to reveal a framed poster of what looked to be a stylized version of himself. He was standing in a rainforest with the words "O Homem Verde" printed on it. Literally translated from Portuguese it read "The Green Man", which was how the Brazilians knew J'Onn.

"I saw that on a recent trip back to Brazil. I thought you might get a kick out of it." explained Fire.

J'Onn gave a little smile. "I'm not in the habit of hanging pictures of myself, but, in this case, I will make the exception." he said as he picked up the next present. "It seems that this one is for me, too. From Guy."

J'Onn opened the box to reveal a green tee-shirt with the saying "Mars Wants Your Women" printed on it. "Thank you, Guy." J'Onn said dryly to the smiling Guy.

J'Onn picked up the next present. "Booster... From Bea."

Booster opened the box and pulled out a 1:24th scale model of a Ferrari. Booster looked at Fire with a quirked eyebrow.

"I knew you wanted one." she said with a small smile. "But, I couldn't afford a full-sized one!"

"Gee, thanks. I'll loan it to the Atom to cruise around in." said Booster.

"Tora...From Ted." said J'Onn as he handed her a present.

Ice unwrapped the package and opened the box. Inside, she found a dvd collection of the British series "All Creatures Great and Small". Ice became addicted to the series when she sat down to watch it on PBS one day. She went on to read all of James Herriot's books. "Thank you." she said to Beetle.

"Guy." said J'Onn, rousting a sleepy Guy. "From Tora."

Guy fumbled with the small box, but, managed to open it. Guy pulled out a small crystal pendant. He brought it closer to his face in order to focus on it better. "There's a lil' scene in the crystal!" he said as he smiled.

Booster nudged Fire and made a tipping motion with his hand to his mouth. Ice saw this and frowned disapprovingly.

"No." Ice said as if chastizing her friends. "There is a little scene etched into the crystal." Then, to Guy, she said, "That's where I'm from. You can always look at that and think of me."

Guy smiled, and Booster could've sworn he saw a little tear form in Guy's eye, and put his head on Ice's shoulder as he continued to look at the crystal.

"And, finally...for me." said J'Onn as he picked up the last present, the large one in the silver/white paper that Fire had been admiring earlier. "From Beetle."

J'Onn peeled the wrap away to reveal a picture of the Martian landscape in a large frame. But, it wasn't just a picture. It had amazing depth, as though it were a window to Mars. J'Onn studied the picture.

"A hologram?" he asked Beetle.

"Yeah. But, a little more advanced." he answered. "I've been working on that for a month. There are eight D cell batteries in the frame. I'm afraid you're gonna have to change them every few weeks. It really sucks the life out of them."

"A small price to pay." said J'Onn, a slight smile creasing his face as he studied the intricicies of the picture. It was Utopia Planitia, J'Onn realized. Not far, at all, from where he once called home.

J'Onn put the picture down gently. "Despite what some might think," J'Onn looked at Booster and Fire. "I did not forget to get you all presents. Or, more correctly, the same present." J'Onn closed his eyes. "They say 'it's the thought that counts'. I would like to give you... my favorite thought."

Suddenly, the members of the team were no longer in the embassy. The study dissolved away into a landscape of reddish-brown sand blown accross a plain, under the palest of blue skies. The scene looked very much like the picture Beetle had just given J'Onn. It was very quiet. It was as though the sounds were muted. Even the wind blowing the sand was quiet. With a shared appreciation, they all realized just how beautiful the scene before them was.

And then, they heard a voice.

The voice didn't come externally. It was in their minds. It sounded like a young girl, and, even though the language she was speaking was totally alien to all, they understood perfectly what she said.

"Father! Father!" she said. "Come look what Mother made!"

They each saw the scene from J'Onn's eyes as he turned toward his home and through the door. There they saw what looked like a smaller, slenderer version of J'Onn's true form. They all knew instinctively that this was J'Onn's daughter. And they all felt such a warm love for her.

"Come on, Father!" she said excitedly and motioned toward another door.

They followed J'Onn's daughter into another room. A studio. There she joined another form. This one looked a more mature version of J'Onn's daughter. They all knew that this was J'Onn's wife. She was standing next to a sculpture she had clearly just finished. She was very talented, and they all felt pride as they looked at the sculpture of the three figures she had completed. The three figures represented a family in the sculpture. This family.

"Do you like it, J'Onn?" his wife asked.

"It is truly beautiful." they all said in J'Onn's voice. "Much like you."

As they all looked upon the two figures, their hearts were filled with joy and love for them both. And more than that. Their hearts were filled with true happiness.

Suddenly, they were all back in the embassy's study.

The members of the team were momentarily disoriented. Perspective was their own again. But, they all still felt the warmth J'Onn had for that moment in time. All realized that J'Onn not only shared a very private memory with them, he shared a little bit of his soul. Each in their own time turned toward J'Onn, who was still standing with his eyes shut. A tear ran down his cheek.

"W-why did you show us that?" asked Beetle quietly.

"That," responded J'Onn. "That is one of my happiest memories. I wished to share it with you because, on Mars, pleasant memories and the feelings associated with them were meant to be shared. To be shared with family."

"But we're not..." started Ice.

J'Onn stopped her. "Yes." he said with a small smile. "Yes, you are. That was a memory of my family on Mars. Given freely to you... my family on Earth."

--------------------------------------------------------------------OOO-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"When I dream, I dream of Mars._

_"I dream of home. Afterall, home is where the heart is._

_"And the heart is always with those you love._

_"That is truly what home is."_

_"But, Mars is not the only home I have known."_

**_THE END_**


End file.
